The People With No Name
by Kidd Inertia
Summary: When life eats away at you bit by bit like a parasite, how long and how much would you be willing to endure before you're broken? Would any of it be justified?
1. Chapter 1

**Copyright Disclaimer: Kamen Rider Faiz is under Toei while Kim Possible is under Disney. I claim no ownership on either franchise.**

* * *

"_I have to get to Middleton_!"

A man in a darkened alley thought as he ran. Sweating profusely and near exhaustion, he was clutching a briefcase closely to his person as he tried to get away from his pursuers. Footsteps were close behind, as if they knew where he was and seamlessly followed him.

"_Oh God, please don't let them catch me_!"

His desperation at its peak; heart racing and legs burning, it was all that was keeping him from stopping because he knew that whoever was pursuing him would show him no mercy. He was practically at death's threshold. Still, he had a smidgen of hope. If he could get himself into a public area or a crowd, he was certain that the ones after him wouldn't dare reveal themselves, and then he would take a bus straight for Middleton.

"_I have to find him_! _He's the only one that can do this_! _He's the only one that I can trust to_…"

His train of thought was cut off by a blur that descended abruptly in front of him, causing him to stumble back in shock, but his grip on the briefcase did not falter, as if his very life depended on it. He fell on his side, but snapped to sit up immediately, his gaze however was still on the ground; too afraid to look up at the person who had stopped him.

He was whimpering now as he surrendered himself entirely to his fear, too frozen to even back away from the assailant that was slowly approaching him.

The figure looked down and considered him for a moment before looking up to catch his associates' arrival, although a lot of them seemed a bit haggard from the chase. He rolled his eyes as he motioned for one of them to contact their superior for an update on the mission. He then went on to address the man that was now curling himself up on the ground without looking at him.

"Mr. Matthews, you gave us quite a run for our money back there, literally. But no hard feelings," he then looked down and almost blanched at the pathetic spectacle, "you can rest easy now. Just give us the briefcase and we'll pretend that all of this never happened." The man stretched his hand out as he trailed off.

Matthews would have scoffed if he wasn't so terrified. "P-please, I already submitted my resignation. I'm not part of the company anymore. J-just-just let me go!"

The man glanced at one of his colleagues, who had just finished talking to their superior and was now tapping at his watch. With a nod he continued, "Of course, it would all be so simple, if you just hand. over. the. briefcase!"

"And you'll kill me!?" Matthews predicted in a panic. He knew how these people operated all too well, as he had been a part of the aforementioned company's R&amp;D Division. He sure as hell wasn't stupid enough to believe that they would just spare him like that after everything he put them through.

The man just shrugged. "Whether you believe me or not is none of my concern right now. The President is being very impatient and would like for you to return to company premises as soon as possible for deliberation. You're already under heavy scrutiny as it is."

Matthews chuckled hysterically at the inanity of what he was being told. "Can we not pretend for just one _God_damn minute of being professionals here? I know what you are! What you're here for - but I won't give it to you - I can't! Too many lives will be at stake."

The other man was becoming increasingly annoyed by Matthews' sliver of defiance, but not outright impatient. He was also somewhat amused by the brief hint of courage laced with it. "Too many lives will be at stake? I'm surprised Gregory. I never knew you to be so altruistic and empathetic to your fellow man."

"Why?" Gregory asked abruptly, as if to change the subject.

"Why what?"

"Why was I accepted?"

"Pardon?" The man feigned confusion at what was being asked.

Gregory's own patience started to wane as he rolled his eyes. "Just answer me! Why was I accepted into the company if you were all…?" He trailed off - afraid that his withheld remark would somehow provoke them.

"All what Gregory?" The man glanced at his men, before suddenly changing. His body, which was fully human for about a moment ago, was now a grey, hulking creature with large horns that spread wide out of his head, his torso covered in what seemed to be thick, bone-like armor, and taking the place of his hands were two large dragon-like heads that reached all the way up to his elbows.

Gregory just reacted with indifference to the horrific sight, indicating that he had already seen it all before. His grip on the briefcase however had tightened even more, as if near crushing it.

"You knew full well what you were getting yourself into when you joined **SMART BRAIN**. Don't tell me that you weren't the least bit intrigued by this." The man gestured to his transformation.

Gregory stifled a cough from panting. "That was before I knew what your real plans were! So why in the hell was I admitted into your little organization hm?" Gregory knew that they knew that he was just stalling them now, but it was all that he could do to buy himself more time - for something - anything.

"We were in need of someone that could fulfill a specific task and by all accounts, you fitted the bill Greg. It was never anything personal, just business and all that. Although…we were a bit tempted to exclude you from the plan, considering everything that you've done for the company." The man motioned for two of his men to grab Gregory.

The duo forced the helpless man up to his feet. This was it, Gregory thought. His final moments; how he wished that he could have at least been given more time to put some old regrets to rest, but alas, life was - as the saying went - unfair.

The creature slowly walked up to Gregory, as if pondering on how exactly he was going to end the miserable old speck's life, however, there wasn't any rule against offering a bit of false hope just to sweeten the deal. "Look Greg, I've got bills to pay in about a few weeks. So, just be a good guy and let me do my job okay? I'll tell you what. I really meant it when I said that we'd leave you alone if you cooperated, and the offer still stands. Just give us the briefcase and this'll all blow over. What do you say?"

Greg swallowed the hard lump in his throat. He could tell that he was just being played over, but he didn't want to make his awareness of the farce too telling. Greg now found himself forcibly crammed into a situation where he had to make the critical decision to surrender what was quite possibly humanity's chance against these monsters and face imminent death, or refuse and die aimlessly anyway. He was trapped.

"I…" Gregory was about to give his answer, but was cut short by the man on his right being struck in the head by a clothes drawer full of boxer shorts

"What the hell!?" The monstrous being exclaimed as he looked up to one of the apartment buildings.

"I cannot - for the life of me, understand how you could have possibly lost $300 Joseph! I mean it was right there, you fucking asshole!" A woman could be heard from the window where the drawer had fallen from, arguing with another who could only be her husband.

"I was busy signing those motherfucking forms the receptionist handed to me you bitch! So sue me!" The man responded in an equally enraged tone.

The woman followed with her own retort. "Oh I will! I'm gonna sue you for everything you have - right down to your organs you stupid, sick sack o' shit!"

Midway between the couple's squabble however, Gregory; with all the adrenaline he could muster at that point, elbowed the other man that was holding onto him and made a break for it, leaving the others a bit too late to react.

It was now or never. His stalling was more than enough for him to get back some of his strength and was thus now bolting like a madman.

"_I have to make it_!_ It just can't end here_!"

As he was nearing the city square, he didn't even bother to look back. Just as long as he was at a public place, he knew that even they wouldn't dare the risk of getting at him without anyone noticing.

Finally reaching his destination, his sense of dread lessened as he found that there was still indeed a small crowd of people walking about, but also noted the unusually high number of police and their cruisers stationed alongside the streets - much to his added relief. He looked around frantically for any of the people that were after him, and now hoped more than ever that his plan had worked. But Greg's breath got caught in his throat as he spotted his pursuer from across the street - glaring at him.

They stared at one another for a brief moment before Greg ran in the other direction to find a bus to Middleton. The other man just rolled his eyes and took out his phone. It was a simple flip phone, which was a bit odd since smartphones had already dominated the market for years and were now common in use. One would have thought that this guy wasn't keeping up with the times. But upon closer inspection, the device was far more advance than it seemed, with one of its features being a secure line that led straight back to headquarters. Not even Global Justice could tap their communications.

The man waited until someone picked up on the other line. "_Report_!"

"He got away," the man stated casually.

There was a small pause. "_Return back Neumann. I want a full briefing on it. There is also the matter of discussing whether I should fire you or not._"

Neumann just rolled his eyes. "Sir, I'm currently at the square. There was no way that I could engage him without causing a panic, you wouldn't believe the heat they got around here..." he trailed off as he surveyed the police being ever vigilant.

"_And that excuses you of your incompetence_? _Report back immediately and you can deliberate yourself here in my office. Remember, this mission is classified considering the party involved…was it at least still with him when he got away from you_?"

"Yes, but my best guess would be that he's heading for Middleton."

"_Hm, yes…he might try to seek out that so called Kim Possible, but no matter_."

"Well, all things considered sir, it probably wouldn't do either of them much good. I mean, she can't really use it…can she?"

"_There have been no recent reports of any incident involving Kim Possible that would warrant us to seek her out. Trust me; I regularly check her medical records just in case…although there _is_ someone that might pose as a potential threat._"

Neumann grimaced inwardly. "You mean him? The test was more successful than we had anticipated after all. Maybe we should get on there as soon as possible."

"_Let's leave _that_ to be discussed at another time. Right now, _you're_ the man of the hour. Congratulations_!" The call then ended as abruptly as it started, prompting Neumann to head back to their can, all the while playing with the phone in his hand.


	2. Chapter 2

**Copyright Disclaimer: Kamen Rider Faiz is under Toei while Kim Possible is under Disney. I claim no ownership on either franchise.**

* * *

**March 4th**

…

**2010 - Thursday**

Ron Stoppable was in his room, sitting on his bed as he stared at the plane ticket in his hand. He was smiling. It wasn't everyday that he had stumbled upon an opportunity like this. In fact, he was thanking his good graces that he even found a job…or rather the job found him. **SMART BRAIN** was a young and upcoming company that specialized in developing new technology, as such; the hunt for employees was hot.

After graduating from Lowerton U, Ron had, for some odd reason that he couldn't quite fathom, lacked the necessary skills, qualifications and credentials that would have given him admission in the food industry, animal care and toy/game designing. Professions that he was sure that he would excel in (read: unlikely).

However, persistent git that he was, this did not deter his ambition to seek out a career in life; that one job that he would probably end up doing for the rest of his life; at least until he retires. He briefly glanced at his alarm clock; 9:38 am.

His flight wasn't going off until six, so he had plenty of time to pack, shake hands, give hugs and kiss his girlfriend goodbye; at least until next week. Placing the ticket on his desk, he was about to double check his suitcase before his cell rang in his pocket. It was Kim.

"Talk to me KP."

"So Ron are you ready? Big week ahead, nervous?"

He skimmed through his belongings as he talked, while Rufus was waking up from his nap. "Not in the slightest…okay maybe a little bit…okay maybe a whole lot. I don't know if this whole job offer is gonna be a sure thing or if it'll be another dead end. I mean, remember when I applied for a position as a toy consultant for Nakasumi; still not getting why they didn't take me."

Ron could almost feel Kim rolling her eyes on her end. "Gee I don't know, maybe because you kept giving them bogus ideas-before you were even hired. You kept on insisting this and that. I'm surprised they didn't blacklist you."

Ron grimaced a bit in embarrassment. "Yeah, totally my bad, but hey, maybe this time things'll be different."

Kim smiled at her boyfriend's optimism. "Just try not to act like a know-it-all Ron. Just listen to what they're saying carefully and respond to any questions that they ask you. Oh, and word of advice, _try_ not to creep them out with any childhood traumas."

"You got it. Oh, I almost forgot, you ready for our speed date today?

"Sure, where's it gonna be?"

Ron wagged his finger at the phone. "Surprises KP. Gotta make it special, gotta make it count. Plus I may have to make some…last minute adjustments."

"You don't know where to take me do you?" Kim asked through a smirk.

"I can take you anywhere!" He replied indignantly, only to face palm over the wording. Kim could barely keep herself from laughing.

"Easy there tiger! We can talk about _that_ at another time. Right now, let's just make due with what we've got right now, okay?"

Ron ran his hand through his face in exasperation. "Yeah just…I got it, just meet me at Bueno Nacho."

"Bueno Nacho? Is that really the best you can do? Ron!" Kim trailed off in irritation.

"I know, I know! Listen, I just really need to see you okay? It really doesn't matter to me where, I just want it to be soon - and by soon I mean now. So…"

Kim pressed her lips together. "Fine…are you okay?"

There was a pause on his end. "Would it be okay if I said that I wasn't?"

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Most of it...I mean, this interview. Why does it have to be in Japan?"

"Their main headquarters is supposed to be there. It's a little weird though. I mean, they have a branch in Upperton."

"Well at least I've been there before. But…I don't know what's eating at me. I mean with graduation over and job hunting - I mean - why are things like this so hard you know?"

"That's life Ron. Nobody's ever gone by taking it easy."

"What? Rich people got it easy."

"Yes, but as hard it is to believe sometimes, most of them started out with barely anything; even if a lot of people would like to assume otherwise."

Ron scoffed as he placed one of his folded boxers into the suitcase. "Pfft, please. If that's the case then why am I still getting royalty checks from the naco? That was quite possibly one of the easiest things I ever did."

"Need I remind you that you can't really be trusted with that much money, and that your parents have your royalties on a trust?" Kim deadpanned.

Ron grimaced at the remark as Rufus climbed up to his shoulder. "Don't remind me. I really learned my lesson that time."

"Uh-hu, right. Well see you later babe."

"Yeah later." Ron ended the call and closed his suitcase. He then straightened up and stretched while Rufus jumped down to his pocket. Noticing this, he took out his little buddy and petted him on the head before getting him back on his shoulder

"Well buddy, I'm going back to the land of the rising sun to get myself a job, and maybe sink my teeth into the local cuisine again. God I miss ramen."

Rufus raised an eyebrow at him. "Hm?" He then pointed out that they ate instant noodles all the time.

"Not instant; _real_ noodles! You ate some too."

Rufus rubbed his tummy and smacked his lips at the reminder. "Mm, ramen!"

**At Bueno Nacho**

Kim and Ron were sitting at their table eating their orders. They continued their conversation from earlier, all the while discussing the usual terms of their brief separation. Kim agreed to watch after Rufus again because Ron couldn't afford another incident in which airline security had to quarantine the rodent in fear of any viruses or diseases.

"So you're just gonna pig out on ramen all the while that you're there?" Kim asked before taking a sip from her soda.

"Nah, there's the interview too - can't forget that and…pretty much just goofing off I guess…do you…want me to bring you something back?"

Kim hung her head. "No…but since you mentioned it…" She grinned at him as she trailed off.

Ron inwardly smacked himself for having brought the topic up. "I'll see if I can make it fit into my budget."

Rufus repeated the last part as he nibbled on a nacho. "Huhu, budget!"

**At the airport…**

Ron Stoppable was carrying his suitcase as he headed towards the docking station. Having said his goodbyes and everything, it seemed like everything was going to be alright. He already had a backup plan of sorts if he ever screwed up this interview; minimum wage, Smarty Mart, or maybe make some money off of YouTube videos.

He lived a pretty interesting life…or at least that's what he sometimes wanted to believe. He wasn't even sure if people were aware that Kim Possible had a sidekick at all. The closest that anyone had ever gotten to actually acknowledge his existence was that time he performed the "Naked Mole Rap".

He swore that there were still viral vids going on around about that. Oh well, Ron could live without the attention. After seeing too many celebrity reality shows and Kim's own tenuous social life, it was a shallow comfort that nobody seemed to pay much attention to him at all; except maybe for his friends and family.

His _immediate_ family that is. Ron had never really gotten along with his other relatives since many of them often saw him as an embarrassment…or a stranger.

It would be ignorant to assume that Ron wasn't at all affected by having been treated as an outcast almost his entire life. Even at a young age, he had tried his best to ignore the pain of people pretending that he didn't exist; with the worst case scenario being an easy target for bullies.

His parents; despite having had a barely hands-on approach at raising him, genuinely loved him and would always support him in a pinch. Kim's parents were also good role models and parental figures that he could look up to, and the twins tolerated him to an extent, but other than that they never really seemed to see him as anything other than a neighbor or a guy that hangs out at their house; it was always hard to get what those two were really thinking.

Above all of them however was Kim, his once best friend, now girlfriend. It almost felt unreal when the two of them started dating and ever since then; whether it was fighting bad guys and foiling world domination plans, they were doing it together, as a couple.

He almost wanted to thank Drakken for having inadvertently set them up in that room where he confessed to her; although a part of him also wanted to knee him in the nads for it having been under less than ideal conditions.

As he approached the gate, he looked back one more time and took a deep breath. "This is it Stoppable…time to show them that you're not a nobody."

…

**A few weeks had gone by before authorities had located the crash site.**

* * *

**This is an A.R. World of both Kim Possible and Faiz, where certain events diverged from canon. R&amp;R**


	3. Chapter 3

**Copyright Disclaimer: Kamen Rider Faiz is under Toei while Kim Possible is under Disney. I claim no ownership on either franchise.**

* * *

**May 12**

…

**2014, Monday**

Ron was staring at a guy in front of him - a man in his 40's maybe, a bit on the chubby side, and a mug that might make a kid cry.

"Look asswipe, I asked you if there was anything here in this fucking store that was my size." His voice was rattling Ron's ears as the man ran his mouth off, presenting a pair of khakis.

"_If anything was your size it might still rip_. Sir, I'm sure we have a pair in storage, I'll just go check and see. Can you wait here?"

"Don't bother!" The man shoved the khakis to Ron's chest before storming off. The blonde couldn't help but grumble at what had transpired- this was the third time this week that guy came here with some form of complaint or another and Ron swore that he was only doing it for kicks.

After folding up the khakis to place it back on the shelf, he walked up to one of his co-workers. "It's almost the end of my shift Greg. Can you fill up for me?"

Gregory Matthews gave Ron a sidelong glance before checking his watch. "Yeah…uh, just be back here tomorrow early Ron. _Really_ early. I have something that I need your help with."

"You got it," Ron said in a low tone as he took off his Smarty Mart vest and slung it on his shoulder, while Gregory just stared at him before going back to rearranging the shelf full of bobble heads (darn kids).

Ron exited the building after waving farewell to his other co-workers, not caring at all that they didn't even pay him as much as a passing glance. As he made his way to his scooter, he checked to see his phone if he had any messages; 3 from Kim, 2 from mom and dad…1 from **SMART BRAIN**.

He deleted the latter and dumped his phone in his pocket. For the past four years Ron had been contacted by **SMART BRAIN** to reconsider working for them, something that he vehemently refused ever since…

Ron got on his scooter and was about to put on his helmet before feeling a hand on top of his shoulder. He felt a slight bit of relief come over him as he knew who it was. He turned slowly as his eyes found emerald orbs staring back at him.

"Give a girl a ride?" Kim said with a small smirk. Ron stared at her for a moment before shrugging and stood up to rummage through his glove compartment for an extra helmet.

"I thought you hated riding on this thing." He said as he found the helmet and handed it to Kim.

"Yeah well…at least it's with you…right?" Kim said solemnly as she strapped it on her head. She then positioned herself behind Ron before he hit the ignition.

The two rode through the streets of Middleton silently. Talking wasn't exactly on their minds at that moment. Since they barely talked at all with each other in four years, aside from the relief that Ron felt, there was also surprise that she actually came to his workplace.

Ron stopped by Kim's apartment building and motioned for her to dismount. Kim took off her helmet and handed it to him, but gently grabbed on to the hand that went for it. The duo just stared at one another before Ron tore his hand away. "Can I please just have my helmet?"

The tone of his voice was neutral, but there was a distinct coldness to it that Kim still caught voice, but it was nothing new - it was at least easier for her to take in this time. Over four years had passed since the plane that Ron flew in crashed and claimed the lives of all the passengers except him after all.

Investigators were a bit baffled by how only one person was able to survive, not that it hadn't happened before. The black box almost didn't reveal anything that wasn't out of the ordinary, aside from a slight discrepancy.

After the crash, over 3 minutes worth of time had somehow been taken out of the recording, which was by all accounts highly unlikely unless the crash was that severe, or if it was a power issue. Within those three minutes anything could have happened.

One of the engines may have still been running, there were still some survivors other than Ron or anything that might warrant it as sabotage. The box may have been tampered with, but investigators had not been able to find evidence of anything that could have done it. The possibility of it being a terrorist act was also up in the air, of course everyone knew that if a group ever took responsibility for such an attack, you can bet that they were blowing smoke - and Al-Qaeda did just that.

Regardless, authorities decided to keep it under the rug because the results were inconsequential, and also because the airport that was under scrutiny paid the right people to keep quiet.

The Stoppables of course were compensated for Ron's harrowing escape from death, but one question still stood. It had been well over 6 weeks before the plane was found near Japan's borders and by all accounts, _no one_ was sure what the hell happened.

Kim of course assisted in the search and was hoping to track Ron down using the chip that was implanted in the back of his neck. Unfortunately, for some strange reason, Wade had been getting conflicting signals from different areas of the world - even in places where the plane couldn't have crash landed in.

He attributed it to a malfunction since Ron may have suffered a concussion or…Kim wasn't willing to entertain that possibility. She kept searching, and by a stroke of luck, Ron was found wandering the streets of Okinawa Prefecture - disheveled, half-starved and with gaps in his memory.

It took two years for Ron to recuperate with treatment - both physical and mental, but the damage had already been done. Ron was never the same. He barely left his house, barely talked to friends and his relationship with Kim…well - people could barely call it a relationship anymore.

Team Possible went into indefinite retirement. This left a huge vacuum in which many of their usual rogues' gallery had gone on with their plans. Global Justice was forced to pick up most of the slack, while Team Impossible - despite having expressed a desire to establish themselves back on the map, was more preoccupied with whoever paid them well enough.

The world had almost been left to the brink. That is…until a few of the major villains retired. It was a surprise to many when one day, Dr. Drakken had put out a video stating that he was quitting the super villain business.

When questioned, he stated that aside from personal issues, funding and henchmen quitting or moving on to higher prospects, he felt that without Kim Possible or that buffoon around to muck things up, he was bored.

Even Shego wasn't far behind in packing her bags and taking a job at Hench Co. as one of their trainers for aspiring recruits, which she had become more than satisfied with. When interviewed on exactly why she left Drakken, Shego gave the same answer, although she also added that she became exasperated when she wasn't getting paid enough to support herself.

When asked if she missed clashing with Kim Possible, she had this to say. "If Kimmie doesn't want to duke it out with me anymore then that's fine. That just means that in the end, I'm her better."

Montgomery "Monkey Fist" had also left the super-villain world due to the fact that he had become disillusioned with it.

Aside from the financial stress and other personal issues that had nothing to do with keeping a low profile from DNAmy Hall (he was sure that restraining order was still in effect), he rationalized that without Kim Possible to serve as a worthy opponent, there was nothing for him to accomplish other than his insulted pride and ego. When asked about what he thought about Stoppable's near death experience, he just gave reporters a cryptic grin and a "no comment".

So far, those were the only notable big names that were under GJ's, the CIA's and FBI's watchlist to have retired or gone low. Duff Killigan and the Seniors were still at large, while other aspiring small names were hoping to capitalize on the scraps.

To ease some of the world's tensions, the company **SMART BRAIN** had announced that they were going to develop a new system that would serve as the next generation of security and defense. Once finished, local law enforcement would be free to give their new inventions a field run before they were to be deemed fit enough for military use.

Weapons that were designed to appear as everyday objects were the first step. A simple flashlight for example; aside from its obvious use, doubled as an effective stun gun for security guards. There were also cameras that could be turned into knuckle dusters if adjusted.

If used with the right skill, the hapless recipient would be left either stunned or unconscious from over 200 pounds of force. Those were but a taste of what was to come. In a few years' time, combat suits would be made and released for further testing.

Kim was about to turn towards her apartment when she stopped midstep. She stood there as she looked down and contemplated on what to say to the man behind her. Ron all the while was busy trying to get his glove compartment open (God how he wanted a new bike). Kim turned to look at him and a thought came up.

"Hey."

Ron looked up from his task, but not before causing the clasp to release and open the compartment.

"My folks and I…well…tomorrow's my birthday," Kim said above whisper.

Ron just continued to stare at her silently with a blank expression. "Do you…remember?"

His gaze not once leaving hers, he slowly opened the compartment and placed the spare helmet inside before closing it shut. Only then did he look away and mounted his bike. Kim looked to the ground in disappointment.

"I'll come."

Kim's head snapped up to catch a brief side glance from him, before he revved up the engine and rode off. Kim continued to look on, unsure on whether he was going to come or not, as he had broken promises before. It would be the same thing for the past 2 years of Ron having declined spending any time or occasion with her. Their anniversary had long been cast aside, and any hope of them ever going back to the good old days was slowly fading. Both of them weren't really sure anymore on where their relationship stood exactly.

**At Ron's apartment…**

Ron slowly walked up to the apartment building that he was staying in after locking his bike in the underground parking lot. It was cheap and in a quiet neighborhood, with occasional visits from his parents and allowances every month from them for his medication. He still went to therapy every now and then and while he wasn't exactly thrilled by it, it was a bit comforting to have someone to talk to about his problems; the _normal_ kind of course.

On the other hand, he sure as hell couldn't tell his family or Kim any of the things that _really_ went on with him - in more ways than one. Before opening his door, he glanced at his right hand and noticed that some dust was on it.

He grimaced and patted it off on his shirt before reaching into his coat pocket for his key. A dull pain was slowly creeping up his arm where the dust had been. It was nothing new - the worst that happened was when his muscles felt like they were ripping themselves from the inside out of his body. _That_ was a big event.

There were also the…changes. Whenever he was under a great deal of stress or angry, bizarre transformations within him would occur. The first time that it had happened was a year ago when he was still staying with his parents. He was in bed, tossing and turning from a nightmare. It was all he could stand before he sat up and clutched his head. It wasn't just his head that was hurting.

_Every_thing hurt. His entire body felt like it was on fire. It was the same thing that he felt after he woke up from the crash site.

**March 5****th**

…

**2010 Friday**

The first time he opened his eyes Ron found himself trapped under large debris. His vision was blurry and he could only make out vague shapes. He struggled to break free from his trap but his body felt weak. The injuries and broken bones that he sustained from the crash didn't help. Still, he just wanted to get out, get help, anything that would save him and any survivors.

He struggled to crawl out from the row of crushed and mangled seats that were trapping him. With what strength he had left he tried grabbing onto the nearest support that he could pull on. He then felt something soft brush against his hand - at least he thought it was soft. He was no longer sure as his senses were a bit dulled at the moment. Blinking a few times to let his vision adjust, he craned his neck despite the pain to look up outside the cocoon made by the debris.

Now that he could see clearer now, what he saw filled him with a sense of dread - it was a bloody hand. Not only that, but a body was strung from across his position, impaled and suspended by a stray beam.

It was a woman who looked to be in her late 30's - all mangled and bloody, the sight was more than enough to make Ron turn away or gag. But he carried on. Reaching out one more time, he grabbed on to an armrest from one of the upturned seats. Working through the pain, he then pulled.

With what little strength he could muster, he pulled at the armrest to pry himself out. With a few more tugs he managed to get his other hand to grab onto it and succeeded. Slowly, he sat up and leaned on what was just a few minutes ago his would-be resting place. He took heavy breaths and coughed a few times, but aside from the unbearable pain that he was feeling, he was alive. He pressed a hand on his shoulder and another on his stomach to help ease the pain and bleeding.

After a few minutes of rest he looked around at the destruction before him. Bodies were littered across the ruined plane with most of them either torn apart or mutilated in some way, while some were burned to a crisp from the fire that was caused by the explosion. By some small miracle the fire didn't reach his end, not that it made him feel any better. He then checked his legs and was slightly relieved that they were still intact - bleeding and aching, but intact.

He then staggered to stand, no longer wanting to stay around for another disaster to befall. Slowly but surely, he made his way through the ruins. Going over dead bodies and checking to see if anyone was still alive. There was still some parts of the plane that were giving way, but other than that, it was oddly silent - it sent a chill down Ron's spine. He was scared more than he had ever been, and the only thing that he could focus on at that moment was to staying alive.

"_I don't want to die_…" were the words that kept echoing in his head. Indeed he didn't. There was still so much in his life that he cherished to leave behind.

"_Kim..._" Her name suddenly came up as he was racing against the clock to escape. He didn't know why exactly, but somehow he felt as though someone was watching him. He felt like he wasn't the only living soul left here. It didn't feel like a survivor however; oh but how he wished that it was. The fear in him grew and this made him hasten his pace despite the limp, with only adrenaline to help numb the agony.

As he reached for an opening, that was when it happened - a sharp pain overcame his entire body...and everything went black.

The next thing he knew or barely knew was that he was in some kind of island full of people. He didn't understand what they were saying as he was too disoriented to understand - or even recognize the language. It all came back to him in therapy - the memory of people who would see him all bloodied and cut up. They would run away, leave him alone, ignore him or on the rare occasion try to find him some help. But he would always evade them.

What was odd was that his injuries had already healed by then, but his clothes were still stained with blood - his blood. And maybe some others; he wasn't quite sure anymore.

He walked and wandered around aimlessly - looking for something or someone that he had no clear idea of. He would scrounge around for food or beg for some money to satisfy his hunger pangs, and even if he tried to buy anything, store owners would always drive him away. Still, there were those that were kind enough to help him, but by then the blood had already dried for anyone to take notice or unnerve them.

He was too numb to care. That was until one day, Kim found him. He didn't recognize her at first despite it having only been a few weeks since they had seen each other, but she was crying - crying her eyes out as she embraced him in relief - not even minding if he was dirty or smelly. All that mattered was that he was found and in her arms…most of him anyway.

As it turned out, one of the local police recognized him as the missing person from the plane crash and contacted her channel through Wade.

**Present...**

At least that last part was still fresh in his mind, all the rest were somewhat sketchy. He would sometimes recall events differently at certain points; his memories tended to be muddled that way. The lights were off, but he didn't bother to turn them on as he could see well enough. It was one of the benefits of the "changes" that he underwent.

Sitting down at the foot of his bed, he took off his shoes and just tossed them carelessly on the floor. He was too tired and irritated to even pay attention at that point. He then just sat there staring into space and not expecting anything to happen. All he wanted now was peace and quiet.

He remained that way all throughout the night before he fell on his back on the bed and dozed off.


	4. Chapter 4

**Copyright Disclaimer: Kamen Rider Faiz is under Toei while Kim Possible is under Disney. I claim no ownership on either franchise.**

* * *

**The next day…**

Ron Stoppable was never an early bird, nor did he even give that much significance to punctuality (his less than stellar school attendance record can attest to that). However, after having sort-of promised that he would come to work much earlier than he usually did for Greg, who was still a rookie and needed all of the guidance he could get from someone who should already be considered a seasoned employee, Ron owed it to the only guy in the work force who actually talked to him without being a jerk, an ear ache or who needed to bail them out for extra break hours.

Even though Greg had just arrived a week from that day , the man was humble. He didn't talk much and when he did it was always polite and professional.

Then again, he was about to meet up with one of his less than friendly colleagues. So what better way to start off the day than have his usual parking space occupied by an H-D Fatboy. The bike itself was already a red flag for him to look for another parking space and book the hell out of there before…

"Mornin' Stoppable!" The friendly greeting came from behind the blonde as he was pushing his scooter along the pavement. Ron turned around to see a man of about his size, raven hair, white collared shirt, blue jeans and his Smarty Mart vest slung over his shoulder.

Rick Stone was; to put it lightly, a typical white American male that was clean shaven, had a good haircut, a winning smile and a "go for the goal" attitude. Ron simply saw him as a nuisance that wouldn't shut up or leave him alone.

"Saw you yesterday after work puttin' on the moves for that hot dish. Who knew you had it in ya?" He lightly patted Ron on the shoulder.

Ron just stared at him for a moment before resuming his finding a spot, but the other man just followed him.

"So me and the guys were wondering if you'd want to hang with us later for some drinks."

Ron just kept on walking. "What? Nothing to say guy?" Ron really couldn't care less if Rick somehow got hit by one of the delivery trucks at that moment.

"Oh what, just because you scored that chick a ride you think you're too cool to talk to now?" Rick asked indignantly. He tightened his lips as he surveyed the blonde who had already found a new place to park his bike. After relinquishing himself of his helmet and other accessories, Ron just calmly walked past him straight towards the employee entrance.

Rick intercepted him, "Look Ron, piece of advice, when a guy talks to you, it ain't polite to leave him hangin' you know what I mean? Come on what's your deal?"

Ron simply opened the door and spared him a glance, "You're on appliances today Stone. Get to it before the manager gets to you," he said with finality. Rick just shrugged in defeat and followed after him before breaking away to his post.

This was just another normal day for the two men as Rick would always try to get Ron to open up more; not that the former wasn't sincere on it, but Rick had a rather unhealthy habit of listening to himself more than considering what others had to say, which was exactly why not a lot of his coworkers admittedly liked having conversations with him.

Ron's first priority was to get a cup of coffee from the lounge, even though it wasn't all that good. His second priority was to find Greg. He took a sip from his paper cup as he walked down the hallway leading out into the mall.

He looked around and saw the man that he was looking for sitting down at the very edge of the clothes Isle. He was obscured by a row of jackets which indicated that he wanted to talk privately.

As Ron walked closer, he noticed that Greg seemed a bit frantic as the man's head was darting around. A small tinge of mischief inside him wanted to scare the man senseless, but that compulsion quickly died down as he got closer.

"Morning Greg, rough night?" Ron took a few more sips from his cup but his eyes didn't leave the other man, who was wringing his hands like they were going to fall off.

Ron felt a sudden urge to walk away as unease began to rise, but he ignored it as Greg motioned for him to lower his head.

"Ron," his voice a discreet whisper, "I have something to show you later after work okay? Whatever happens, you and I have to talk, got it!? "

The blonde was a bit surprised at this but his expression remained neutral and blank. He continued to sip his coffee as the two of them just remained that way since not a lot of customers had arrived yet.

"Care to explain?" Ron finally spoke up.

"What?" Greg's brow furrowed as he looked up from his seat. Ron just rolled his eyes and gave him a "no duh" look.

The older man seemed to get it. "Oh uh…it's just something important that can't be discussed here. Just wanted to let you know is all."

"Don't tell me you have a thing for me?" Ron asked with the utmost sincerity.

Greg's expression immediately went blank after processing what was just asked of him. He managed to snap himself out of it though, "I'm afraid that any attempt for me to object to your assumption will give out the wrong implications."

Ron shrugged, "Eh, never really saw you as the type Greg. I've seen you eye some females. You married?"

"No…can you honestly say that a woman would be attracted to someone like me?" Greg asked with equal candor.

Gregory Matthews was in his early fifties with a skinny build, short graying black hair and black square glasses. Going by these statistics, he had a point in questioning his own attractiveness and chances for romance.

That was when Greg suddenly remembered something, "I did have a girlfriend though…"

"Oh? I take it an explanation is in order?" Ron's curiosity piqued.

Greg scratched the back of his neck, "Well…she and I were pretty close. I mean, we went on dates a couple of times; that kind of stuff," Greg hung his head, as if to avoid making eye contact with Ron, "but the relationship was…in a word, stagnant.

Then something came up and I had to end it between us. I severed my ties with her and the rest is, well, as they say-history."

Ron just furrowed his brow in dull interest but then decided to drop the subject. It wasn't everyday that someone would just open up to him like this. "Where ya' from Greg?"

Greg looked up from his nostalgic stupor with his hands on his knees, "Hm? Oh uh, Lowerton. I was born there but uh…you know how it goes; went to school, learned some shit and got myself a degree. Used to live and work at Upperton but…something happened and I was forced to…settle here; not that I regret it mind you. Middleton's actually pretty nice."

Ron suddenly remembered the invitation Kim gave him, "Listen, I've got to be somewhere so I'm gonna have to bail early. Can whatever you have to tell me wait 'till tomorrow?"

Greg contemplated for a moment before standing up and stretched as he heaved a deep sigh, "Would it be alright with you if it'll only be 20 minutes? Just 20 minutes is all I ask, I promise."

"Fine." Ron conceded after finishing his cup before crumpling it in his hand.

**After work…**

Ron and Greg accompanied each other as they headed out into the parking lot. As the duo made their way through the rows of cars, Ron's curiosity got the better of him again.

"So what's this that you have to discuss with me?"

Greg just kept his gaze forward, "It's just a little something that I've been working on that I need your help with. Say uh…Ron, do you and Kim Possible still do that thing you two do? Save the world I mean?"

Ron felt slightly uneasy, "If you think that, then you've been living under a rock. No…I-we don't do that anymore. Actually, today's her birthday and I have to be there for her."

Greg cleared his throat, "Uh yes, well…the thing is I have this…problem-" he was cut off by Ron stopping in his tracks.

"Let me guess, you're actually a scientist that's gone under the radar from some diabolical mastermind who wants your invention for world domination. Did I hit the nail on the head?" He said in a deadpan manner, but there was a hint of bitterness in his tone.

Greg's eyes widened in surprise, then hung his head as he moved to clean his glasses, "Kiddo, if you only knew the full story. If I could just have a moment of your time to explain-"

Ron held up his hand, "No, I will not give you a moment of my time. Whatever it is that you want me and Kim to do for you forget it-"

"It would be much better if it was just you Ron. You see, there are certain things that are happening right now; things that need to be stopped."

Ron just turned to walk away, "Not interested."

"How often does your body hurt?"

Hearing the question alone seemed to have bolted Ron to the asphalt for what seemed like forever at that moment; not daring to look at the other man in fear that he might just be pulled into some sort of mind game. Finally; after some reluctance, he slowly turned around to face the latter.

"What?"

Greg smirked, "How many times per day does your body hurt Ron? Feels like you're burning from the inside right? What about the grey dust?"

Ron paused as he took that in, he then slowly walked up to Greg; his face neutral but the older man could feel the boy's temper rising.

"Five minutes. Start talking."

"It's quite simple really, I could tell you, but it would probably be better if I showed you." Greg motioned for Ron to follow him. The latter was reluctant but complied. Even though he felt like grabbing the older man's throat and choking the answers out of him, Ron wasn't too thrilled to have assault charges against him.

The pair made their way towards a parked Volkswagen Beetle outside of Smarty Mart premises. It was painted entirely black; save for a small symbol on the front that Ron caught out of the corner of his eye; it was a small red circle with a vertical line that ran through it in the middle.

Greg pointed him to wait by the right side of the car while he moved to open the back trunk. Ron leaned by the side as Greg fished out what appeared to be a briefcase. Its corners were metallic silver while the body itself was black with a **SMART BRAIN** logo stamped at the center.

When Ron saw this, he instantly backed away, "You're with **SMART BRAIN**?"

Greg looked up from the briefcase at Ron, who had his hands up in apprehension. Gregory just sighed, "No…I'm not."

Ron just scoffed, "Why should I believe you? These guys have been hounding me for the past four years asking me to work for them and all the while I've said no! Now they send you to try and recruit me? Oh I get it, playing all nice and buttering me up for your bosses."

Greg held his hand up to try calm the young man down, "Ronald, I assure you that that is not my intention at all. Yes, I did work for **SMART BRAIN**, but all of that is behind me now as I left the company under less than favorable circumstances." Greg explained with sheer sincerity. Still, Ron wouldn't have any of it.

"Hey, whatever it is you want me to do, I can bet that it's dangerous!"

"It is," Greg confirmed casually.

"Screw you!" The blonde had had enough. He wasn't about to be dragged into another old geezer's cockamamie scheme. He still remembered that Fearless Ferret fiasco; sweet Jesus did he come to regret that.

"Ronald, please…I need your help," Greg beckoned, but he managed to keep his tone neutral, but the blonde still caught a sliver of desperation in it. Ron's sprint slowed to a halt as the request ran through his mind. He contemplated about what he was getting himself into. Admittedly, he did ask Kim a year ago that he was willing to go back into heroism with her if she wanted, but the red head had already thought long throughout his first therapy sessions that they were done with heroics.

The plane crash was a wake-up call for her that no matter what they did, there will always be things that they couldn't control, people that they couldn't save and villains that they couldn't keep down forever. Their personal lives had taken a major blow from the incident and that was all the reason Kim had for calling it quits. Ron tried to reason with her that they had been through worse scrapes and brief brushes with death countless times.

Kim had shut him down with the fact that she wasn't there for him when it mattered. The crash itself was still a bit of a blur to him, but every now and then there would be vague flashes before the plane went down that still left Ron a bit baffled. He could have easily called for Kim to mount a mid-air rescue, but when he tried to contact her through their emergency channel, that's when his recollection of the events stopped.

Ron shook his head and resumed his attention to Greg, who by then was holding the briefcase by the handle in his right hand. The two just stood there in the middle of the street in silence, with a few people walking by but paying them little to no heed.

The blonde was ready to just get the hell out of there and head straight for Kim's party, but something inside was telling him to give Greg a chance; a small chance, and if the man wasted it, then Ron would make sure for the rest of his life to never talk with him ever again.

He slowly walked back up to Greg and crossed his arms, "Start talking and make it quick."

"The time and day is inconvenient for the both of us. The only thing that I need to do right now is to give this to you for protection. We'll talk tomorrow when you have more free time in your hands, but I must warn you that no matter what, keep this briefcase safe with you. Don't give it or show it to anyone, even to people you know. Do not under any circumstances open it unless I say so. Understand?"

Ron slowly took the case and studied it for a bit. It was light and something that he could carry with him as he rode on his scooter. He then heard a car door close and found that Greg was already at the driver's seat of his vehicle.

"Just in case you become curious the lock is armed with an explosive that if opened in any way will eviscerate anything within a 2 mile radius. I suggest you go someplace where it'll make the least amount of casualties." Greg said as if he was just talking about the weather.

Ron's eyes went wide, "You gave me a bomb!?"

Greg frantically shushed him, "Shh! It's not a bomb! That's just the security measure latched onto the lock. What's inside is more than just a bomb, but quite possibly more dangerous." His voice was now but a low whisper, causing Ron to inch closer, "Ron…I am entrusting this to you with my life. I can't give you a solid explanation right now but…you have to trust me on this. I'll tell you everything tomorrow, alright?"

Ron locked eyes with Greg; searching for any form of duplicity in them, but he was never really that good at reading people. Greg however was hoping now more than ever that the boy would just go along with what he wanted; he had already sacrificed too much to fail now.

After a moment, Ron straightened and spoke up, "Alright…we'll talk tomorrow, but it better be good," his voice was low and cold, but Greg took it in stride.

"Thank you, I promise you everything will be made clear, but I will tell you this. Just to give you a bit of a hint on what you're going to expect."

"What?" Ron asked.

**...**

"Faiz…"


	5. Chapter 5

**Copyright Disclaimer: Kamen Rider Faiz is under Toei while Kim Possible is under Disney. I claim no ownership on either franchise.**

* * *

"_Faiz_?"

That was the word that kept coming up in Ron's train of thoughts. He was slightly baffled by the vague information that Greg gave him after they separated.

"_It's probably nothing…or it could be a password of some sort…gah! Why am I even concerning myself with this!?_" It was true. Ron, for the life of him, had never expected to be drawn back into this sort of thing again after he and Kim had officially called it quits.

"_The things I have to put up with in my life. It's like the universe sees me as its go-to guy for quality entertainment._" As he neared Kim's house, he was at least thankful that he made enough time to bring the briefcase back to his apartment for safe keeping and head straight for the party afterwards, which from afar was already well under way.

Ron parked his scooter next to the garage after dismounting. As he was taking off his helmet he managed to catch by the corner of his eye Dr. Ann Possible walking up to welcome him. Time had been very kind to Ann since she barely seemed to have aged from the years that had passed since Ron had last seen her, save for a few wrinkles and a faded stripe of red hair.

"Ronald!" She moved in to embrace him, which he returned. "It's great to see you again," she broke from the hug but still held on to his arms to get a better look at him. "How have you been doing?" she asked motherly. Ron felt a bit of relief wash over him, as he had been expecting a lot less.

"Fine Dr. P…am I late?" He glanced at the house and saw a few shadows through the blinded window.

Ann smiled at him. "You're just in time actually. In fact, Kim just got here before you. Let's get inside where it's warm."

As she lead him through the door, Ron was starting to feel a bit self-conscious. He didn't have time to change into anything more appropriate for the party since he was still wearing the clothes that he showed up in for work - a red flannel shirt under his Smarty Mart jacket - which he had the initiative to put in his glove compartment, and black denims.

His stomach twisted a bit inside as he was lead through the door and was met with two people by the hallway talking - it was Monique and Felix, but it took him for about a minute to recognize them.

In turn, it didn't take long for him to get noticed by the pair through a passing glance, only for them to give him their full attention - visibly surprised by his arrival. Ron couldn't help but feel an eerie similarity to their reactions to what he had received after the plane crash.

The blonde just stood there and gazed back at the two, not moving or making any sound, afraid that he might set something off.

Felix was the first to snap out of it. "Ron? Ron-Man is that you?" His mouth slowly curled into a smile as he said those words and drove his wheelchair right up to his friend. He held out his hand and Ron graciously took it - well- as graciously as someone who looked like he was recovering from shock.

Monique just crossed her arms as she neared the pair. She had a very stern "I hope you have a very good explanation as to why it took you this long to get here" look on her face. Only when Ron locked eyes with her that her facade melted and she took him into a tight hug.

Ron was struggling to keep himself from wilting at that moment. "_This is…actually better than I had expected their reactions to be_." The blonde felt a bit of shame build up inside him as he took a better look at his friends. Felix had barely changed, but he was sporting a five o'clock shadow and hipster glasses. He was wearing an emerald buttoned-up shirt and blue jeans.

Monique on the other hand had seen a significant amount of change. Gone was the puffy hair for a more boyish style that was neatly combed, with some bangs that accentuated it. She was wearing a teal cocktail dress, a blue scarf around her neck with floral patterns that matched with her ensemble and white strappy heels.

It was like time was playing a sick joke on him.

Ron grunted in embarrassment and scratched the back of his neck. "So how have you guys been?"

Felix furrowed his brows but his smile didn't falter by the least. "I think we're the ones with the privilege to be asking the questions here Ron."

The blonde looked down and sighed. "Figured as much…can I at least ask where Kim is?" Monique smiled at the question as knowing eyes caught sight of the redhead slowly creeping up behind the blonde, ready to pounce on her unsuspecting prey, but alas, Ron's enhanced senses just had to kick in to gear at that moment.

In an instant, Ron whipped around to catch Kim in his arms as she was just about to wrap them around his neck. Those present in the hallway save for him widened their eyes in surprise. The two broke away shortly for Kim to straighten herself. The long-time best friends then gazed at each and just stood there as if the other had just seen a ghost.

Afraid that they might end up being locked into their little staring contest forever, Monique audibly cleared her throat and placed a hand on each of the couple's shoulder. "I think we're long overdue on all of this drama. You two can catch up all you want later and when we're all nice and hammered. You with me on this?" She looked to each of her friends as they exchanged silent agreements.

The rest of the party was like a blur to Ron. With guest after guest coming in with many a familiar faces, some of which he would rather not have the opportunity to reacquaint himself with. The prime candidate being Bonnie Rockwaller, who - beyond all reason, Kim had managed to invite.

He shortly surmised since she had invited her entire highschool cheer squad, Kim wanted it to be fair on all of them and as an act of (reluctant) goodwill on her part - not that Rockwaller would ever accept it. Ron had a good mind to avoid Bonnie at all costs for the whole night, since he knew that she'd probably just try to provoke him for her own amusement and/or to mess with Kim's special occasion.

He was sitting calmly by the sofa drinking some sparkle water (grape) since he had become adverse to alcohol. The last time he became inebriated he almost got arrested for assaulting some patrons in a bar he was at, hence why he was vehement in his refusal to partake Rick in his earlier offer.

That wasn't counting all of the other times that Ron had tried to drink his sorrows away. Fortunately, his parents alongside the Possibles managed to intervene in his time of need.

At that moment he was having a very engaging conversation with Felix, who had managed to land a job at the Middleton Space Center as one of its top developers in new ways for space travel - which included a very experimental, but controversial procedure of altering human bodies to be more efficient astronauts.

"…And I've volunteered myself for the procedure," Felix concluded. Ron just furrowed his brow at the rather blasé attitude his friend had over what would quite possibly be a _very_ life-altering decision.

"You sure? I mean, Felix, it could be dangerous." Ron made no effort to hide his concern, but it was low enough for only the other man to hear.

The brunette simply waved his hand. "Ron, I've already thought about this for a long time now. I've run tests, simulations, and hypotheses with my colleagues. This could work!" His eyes traveled down as he wet his dry lips, "I'll make it work…"

"Felix…if this is about you wanting to walk, can't you just…get an operation? I mean one where you don't have to become the next T-800," Ron set his empty glass down on the table next to him. He didn't really like having disagree with the guy that he considered fourth in his list of friends - with Kim, Wade and Monique taking up first, second and third respectively.

Not that he would ever tell them that to their faces of course.

Felix ran a hand through his hair as he gave out a deep sigh. "I appreciate the concern Ron, I really do but…I've already made my decision. I mean, haven't you ever wanted to risk undergoing a major change in your life?"

Ron suppressed the urge to laugh. This was probably one of the key moments in a person's life where irony had the opportunity to shine itself in all its splendor and glory - God did it feel crappy.

He slowly looked away from Felix as he continued, "I just...don't want you to get in over your head man, and trust me when I say this because I'm talking from experience. Things…haven't exactly been the same with me these past few years, you know? Change is…well it can work both ways - you can either end up becoming something that you can proud of or…not being able to look yourself in the mirror anymore."

Felix's eyes widened as he had just realized the implications of the blonde's words. "Ron-oh man Ron, I am so, so sorry! I-I didn't really mean anything by that. What I said was-oh God…" he face palmed at his mistake, but Ron quickly reprimanded him with a pat on the shoulder.

"Dude, it's okay. I've pretty much calmed down since then, and I'm sorry if this conversation had to go into that." The smile he gave the brunette was reassuring enough, but at that moment Felix knew that he would never be able to look Ron straight in the eye throughout the night.

**Elsewhere…**

Greg was sitting in a chair in a dark room, with the only source of light being a lamp that was hovering above his work table. His right eye had a magnifier on as he was deeply entrenched on a small chip that he was installing into what appeared to be a motherboard of some sort He was already behind in creating what would be his and Ron's line of defense for the conflict that was on the horizon, and he couldn't afford any more delays or distractions.

"_I have to hurry. After everything that's happened I can't fail_! _I just _can't…" his mind ran through, just as he had successfully installed the chip. Satisfied, he straightened up from his work and let out a breath of triumph. Too preoccupied was he at what he had just finished that he failed to notice some grey dust under his left arm.

* * *

**If you guys are wondering where Rufus is. He's going to be in the next chapter. Don't worry, he's not dead.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Copyright Disclaimer: Kamen Rider Faiz is under Toei while Kim Possible is under Disney. I claim no ownership on either franchise.**

* * *

A few hours into the party had passed, and Ron was left to lean by the wall of the hallway. After his conversation with Felix, he felt that he had interacted enough. However, as he observed the others around him, his anxiety started to rise.

Smiles and laughter…it was the kind of things that he once reveled in on occasions such as these, but after the incident, it just didn't feel the same anymore. He still remembered the last party that he had attended. One of the employees at work had just gotten engaged and he couldn't take no for an answer when he invited Ron to a get together in a hotel that he had reserved.

Ron had done his best to present himself as respectable as possible for the guests there (as well as _actually_ going there in the first place), but they mostly ignored him. In turn, Ron couldn't be bothered talking to people that he hadn't even met in his life; sure there were his other co-workers there, but the sentiment was largely the same.

It was strange though…it almost felt like one of his family gatherings or bar mitzvahs. If he wasn't so bored out of his mind at that time, he would have acted the same as he did in his younger days and the people there wouldn't have batted an eyelash.

He was invisible.

The sound of someone clearing their throat had awakened him from his trance, and his eyes soon found themselves staring at green orbs surrounded by fire. Kim had a light smile on her face as she considered him. He was somewhat relieved that it had been her to bring him back to reality and shuffled towards her.

"Any chance we can get out of here?" His eyes were glazed over as he asked. He really wanted to leave and not have to put up with anymore guests.

She pursed her lips in thought, before grabbing his hand and leading him up the stairs. The escape attempt had failed.

Coming up to her room, the pair slowly made their way inside and closed the door, momentarily severing their ties to their friends and family. All the while Kim held onto Ron's hand gingerly. Both of them didn't move away from the door as they locked eyes with one another, as if wanting to drink in all of the changes that time had given them.

Ron still had his signature hair style, but his face had become a bit more defined with age, with the stress having been a major contributor. He was still somewhat wiry, but his shoulders were now slightly broader and any excess fat he may have had was all but gone - a far cry from the scrawny youth that he once was.

The vibrant young beauty that Kim once was had matured into a woman. Her hair was shorter than it was before, ending only up to her shoulders. Her body was more fit and well-toned that it was from her younger days, an obvious indication of her still keeping up with her regiment despite Team Possible having dissolved.

Hesitantly, Kim leaned in to peck Ron on the cheek, which the latter did not deter her from; he supposed that it had been long enough. As he felt her soft lips run against his skin, it felt familiar and strange at the same time. At that moment, he tried to remember what their other kisses had felt like after they started dating.

Sadly, all he could recall was a time where he had been happier than he ever was when she finally accepted his feelings. Instead of blissful nostalgia, all he felt was pain. Throughout the few years however, he had learned to live with such pain.

Ron's hands slowly went up to gently grasp Kim's face. She expressed a brief tinge of surprise, but relaxed as he drew her in for a genuine but equally gentle kiss. It was brief, but emotions long contained were made tangible in that one single gesture of affection.

They continued to gaze into each other before Kim led him to sit on what was once her bed. The room was lit by a lamp that rested on the drawer next to it. That wasn't what caught Ron's attention however, for under the lamp was Kim's open handbag. A small figure slowly emerged from it; having just awoken from sleep.

Ron's lips curled into a small smile. After what seemed like forever, his other best friend in the whole wide world had come back to him; or perhaps it was the other way around. Rufus himself had barely changed, save for a few small wrinkles that were barely noticeable; all either from stress or loneliness. As soon as the naked mole rat adjusted his focus, his eyes suddenly lit up and he enthusiastically jumped into the waiting palms of his buddy.

An overwhelming feeling of guilt overcame the blonde as the small rodent quickly crawled up to his shoulder and hugged his face. Rufus was whimpering his heart out as he held on tightly, afraid that Ron might slip away again and leave him. The tears that were long kept at bay were released then and there, with all three breaking down and bringing each other into a tight embrace

Ron was the first to speak, "I'm sorry…" he trailed off; his voice distorted by tears and mucus, but it was all too clear to the other two as they tightened their hold on him.

For the rest of the night, there were no words as they just stayed in the room and on Kim's bed; lying next to each other, with Rufus on Ron's chest and Kim's head on the blonde's shoulder as she leaned against him.

...

That was until both Jim and Ann barged in and "asked" the trio to come downstairs for Kim's birthday song and cake.

It was Vanilla-Butternut.

**Elsewhere…**

**SMART BRAIN**

**Upperton – May 13, 2014**

Gavin Neumann was sitting on a black Corinthian leather couch. He was inside the barely lit office of **SMART BRAIN** CEO Avery Westlake, who had his eyes trained on the young man who was casually playing with his flip phone.

"I hope you're comfortable Gavin," Avery said calmly, but his voice had an edge to it that bespoke only to those he considered needed his attention and critique.

"Yeah…" the other man replied halfheartedly, his attention more focused on the device in his hand rather than his boss.

Avery's left eye twitched. Without further delay, he pressed a button in front of him on his desk, and a holo-screen appeared from across the room for both men to see.

"8 days ago, Gregory Matthews submitted his letter of resignation and took what little back pay he managed to accumulate. 3 days later, he returned to company premises and _some_how managed to evade security and stole a critically important piece of technology from our labs."

Gavin still continued to play with his phone, snapping it open and closing it in succession. Avery was starting to get annoyed from the noise it made.

"For the next 3 days, you and your squad was tasked of tracking him down and bringing him back here for questioning. Now you're here in my office with neither a scientist nor a briefcase. Care to pitch in your side of the story Mr. Neumann!?" He trailed off on a high note, with Avery tapping his finger from a slow to fast pace as he finished the sentence.

It took about a minute for Gavin to respond to his boss' tirade, "He's infected."

"What?" Avery's brow furrowed.

Gavin just grinned as he gave his boss a passing glance, "Gregory Matthews infected himself with a strain of the Orphnoch virus before leaving the compound. He must have done it while he was in his old lab."

Avery paused as he contemplated that bit of information. He rubbed a hand over his mouth before he continued, "If that's the case then we'll have no choice but to observe his actions for the time being. The virus will only become truly active once his body is mutilated at death. If he dies a natural death, he'll just crumble to dust and nothing else."

"What about a sniper?" Gavin asked.

"If it's a new strain then the results are unpredictable. It may still react in a way that we haven't anticipated." Avery reasoned.

"How long do you think he has?"

Avery stood up from his seat and walked up to the screen, "If introduced into a living being, the virus will continue to integrate into the cells and break them down, thus shortening the lifespan of the person in question. Because without a trigger of some sort, it will aimlessly spread and keep destroying cell after cell until there's nothing left. Unfortunately for both parties it is a slow and painful process. A few years give or take."

"Then we still have a problem," Gavin said with finality.

Avery looked to the other man inquisitively, "Oh? How so Mr. Neumann?"

"As long as Matthews is alive he's just as much of a threat to the company as the next guy. I've seen how he works. You think someone of his talents should be on TIMES by now," Gavin chuckled as he trailed off.

Avery pursed his lips, "Gregory always struck me as something of a recluse. He doesn't care about fame or recognition, all he ever cared about was his work. 'So trivial' was how he would always put it."

"A man after your own heart?" Gavin glanced at him with a mischievous smile.

The older man just scoffed, "Fame? Recognition? None of those things matter in the long run Gavin. In the grand scheme of things, time always has a way of making people forget."

"Not if you make them remember," Gavin grinned at his remark.

Avery cleared his throat, "Regardless, if we are to act now and he becomes an Orphnoch, there's no telling how the virus will change him. The chances of him becoming more powerful than we can speculate are too high considering the recent tests we've run."

Gavin snapped his phone shut just as the older man finished. He then slowly stood up from his seat and slipped his hands into his pockets before walking up to the large screen. The images he saw were several security footage of Greg; or rather, who seemed like Greg walking through hallways and personnel.

"Any ideas boss?"

Avery paused for a moment to think, "Nothing too drastic. It would be a waste of resources and manpower. We have to make it covert."

"Pfft, I can do covert. Just give me the right equipment and the guys and I'm good to go."

"Well-" Avery was cut off by his smartphone vibrating in his pocket (yes, he uses a smartphone). Picking it up, he saw that it was the R&amp;D.

"Yes?…Are you sure? The green light, yes…I'll be right there."

"Going on a date boss?" Gavin asked casually, but it wasn't in any way a joke.

Avery gave the younger man a condescending look as he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"That was the R&amp;D. It's done."

"It? They're actually finished?" Gavin inquired, his interest rising.

"It's amazing that they actually managed to without Greg. Remind me to give those guys a raise." Avery motioned for Gavin to follow him.

As the pair made their way out of the office, Gavin made no effort to hide the almost childlike grin plastered on his face. Only one word echoed in his mind at that moment.

"_Kaixa_…"

* * *

**There is no need to rush the action. That's just reckless writing.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Copyright Disclaimer: Kamen Rider Faiz is under Toei while Kim Possible is under Disney. I claim no ownership on either franchise.**

* * *

Ron yawned as he entered the employee lounge of Smarty Mart. He had stayed up late throughout Kim's party. After the cake was sliced, Kim encouraged Ron to catch up with a few more of the guests that were there, which he did.

Both of them agreed however that Bonnie would be the sole exception.

After greeting his co-workers that were there, he made his way to get his daily fix of crap coffee from the counter. Despite not being a good brew, he still got a buzz out of it (and he couldn't be bothered to brew his own). With cup on hand and the nerve to endure another day of mediocrity, he started heading for his isle when a hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Ron! I'm glad you're early." It was Greg.

"What's up Greg?" Ron asked as he stifled a yawn.

Greg inched closer to whisper to him. "After shift we're heading out, but in case I'm not ready yet, wait by my car and we'll talk while we drive up to my lab. All of the more critical details we'll be expanded there. Oh, and did you bring the briefcase?"

Ron nodded. "Excellent! Then we'll be good to go later this afternoon. Also you might want to cancel or put a rain check on all other appointments because we might just pull up an all-nighter. Later!" He patted the blonde on the shoulder as he walked off to his isle, leaving Ron to ponder.

"_Please don't let him be a sexual predator._" Was the sentence that went over Ron's mind over and over again until he reached his isle.

The day had gone by relatively normal, save for a few customers with inquiries on their purchases (he was on appliances).

When lunch finally arrived, Ron sighed in relief as he was readying himself to head for the food court, only to be intercepted by someone calling out to him from afar. Trailing the source of the voice, he found Kim; who was smiling and waving at him. Ron returned the smile as he walked up to her and gave her a hug. The pair then made their way to the food court and only after getting their meals, did conversations start.

"So where's Rufus?" Ron asked as he took a bit out of his jumbo burrito.

"He's at my apartment," Kim replied nonchalantly.

Ron paused just before he shoved a spoonful of burrito into his mouth and his gaze slowly fell on Kim; his mouth hanging open while his brow furrowed in worry, causing Kim to hold a hand up. "I can't bring him to the hospital Ron. Besides, he's grown up enough to take care of himself."

"Uh…" Ron was a bit flabbergasted that Kim had left his buddy alone in her apartment. He had after all entrusted her with Rufus ever since he decided to live alone.

That wasn't to say that Ron abandoned his buddy outright; he just couldn't trust himself anymore on taking care of Rufus.

Still, the blonde would always try to muster up the courage to see him; which unfortunately would always get botched because of his reluctance and guilt. It didn't help that Kim would text him every now and then about how the little guy was doing.

However, if there was one thing that was made perfectly clear back at the party is that both Kim and Rufus didn't blame him for anything and forgave him; it wasn't like he actually wanted to leave them.

"Does it help that he has his own couch and mini-tv in his tank?" Kim grinned.

Ron's eyes widened as his lips broke into a smile. "Wha-seriously?"

"Yep, a regular old couch potato. I mostly buy him the usual feed, but he always insists on Bueno Nacho takeout."

Ron stifled a laugh. "Oh man! That's our Rufus…so is it your day off or something?"

"I'm on leave. The guys at Middleton General can go on without me for a week. Right now…all I want is to catch up with you. I mean, _really_ catch up." Kim gently placed a hand on Ron's as she trailed off, causing the blonde to look up from his food again and lock eyes with the redhead for what seemed like the umpteenth time now.

Kim continued. "Listen, you busy tonight?"

The question caught Ron off guard. _Crap_! Why the hell now? Greg's words from earlier suddenly ringed in his head. "Um, to be honest Kim, yeah…yeah I have a…prior engagement. It's not that I don't want to spend time with you right now-which we're doing, um-later, I mean. We _are_ spending time together right now it's just…" his hands were flailing frantically as he tried to explain himself; _tried_ being the key word.

Kim placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ron, Ron relax! It's okay I get it. You have your own life right now. I mean, we just got back to talking again and I'm in no rush myself."

"KP I..." Ron sighed - he really sucked at things like this, "I just don't want things to be worse than they already are."

Kim smiled at him, but was also somewhat puzzled by what he had just said before shrugging it off. "They're not Ron, trust me. You're trying and that's more than enough for me…and I'm…sorry that I let things get so out of control too."

Ron looked at Kim a bit incredulously. "There's nothing for you to apologize for! Look Kim, for what it's worth, what happened to me wasn't your fault and it would _really_ suck if you put yourself down for it. None of us wanted for it to happen."

Kim paused to tighten her lips then let out a sigh. "Enough nitty-gritty, you hungry?" She trailed off with a small smile.

Ron scoffed. "KP, I wouldn't be Ron Stoppable if I wasn't hungry." With that said, Ron proceeded to scarf down his meal, with Kim rolling her eyes in amusement at the familiar sight.

After eating, Kim accompanied Ron back to his isle before going their separate ways; which would have been fine and dandy if it weren't for the last person that Ron wanted to see.

"Yo Stoppable you busy? Oh! It looks to me that you are." Rick Stone, whose timing couldn't be any better, grinned as he looked Kim over. Ron stopped himself from face-palming, if only to spare the raven haired the satisfaction of getting on his nerves.

Kim furrowed her brows at the man. "Friend of yours Ron?"

"In a sense. Kim this is Rick Stone. Rick this is Kim, and I'm quite sure that you've already heard of her." From his tone, Ron seemed like he _really_ wanted to ask Rick to leave but decided against it; he wasn't in the mood to start anything.

Rick Stone was infamously renowned at the workplace as a man that had an eye for women and right now, he was making good on that claim. "A pleasure to finally meet you in person Ms. Possible." He reached out his hand as he trailed off.

Kim took the handshake and offered a formal smile in response. "Dr. Possible actually. Pediatrician."

Rick's smile widened. "Oh, so you like treating kids?"

Kim blinked. "Yes...um, you can let go of my hand now."

It took about three seconds for Rick to register what Kim had requested of him. Ron rolled his eyes at the display. This was one of the main reasons why Rick always had a low opinion from the other coworkers; especially the females, and also why he disliked spending time with the guy.

Seeing an opportunity to intervene, Ron cut in between the two. "Okay, I think it's time for you to go Kim. I'll call you after work. Let's talk lunch at... Friday? How's that sound?"

Kim nodded as her gaze returned to Ron while rubbing her hand awkwardly while Rick inwardly sighed in disappointment.

The couple parted ways with a small kiss, leaving the two men on their own.

Rick wasted no time in reprimanding the blonde. "What was that for Stoppable? I could've invited her out myself." He flashed the blonde a grin however, which left Ron unsure whether the guy was serious or not.

Ron calmly explained it to him. "One, because everyone here knows you flirt with every hot girl you see. Two, she's with me."

Rick held his chest in mock offense. "You wound me good sir! Why, my intentions on her were pure. If she's with you Ron then that's just fine with me; I mean, come on! Can't a guy just appreciate a lady? I happen to know that they find it flattering." He trailed off with a chuckle.

Ron's hand finally met with his face as he massaged his eyes. "Rick…do you have a girlfriend?"

Rick hesitated then gave a simple, but truthful, "No."

"There you go," Ron vindicated him, and quickly walked away. Unfortunately, Rick felt the need to follow him.

"Stoppable! Hey Stoppable, come on. I was just joshin' ya."

"You're not exactly a good conversationalist Rick. Every time you run your mouth off you always end up offending someone," Ron deadpanned.

"That's not true!" Rick defended himself, this time his offense being genuine.

"You told Meredith yesterday that just because she was on remission, she shouldn't worry anymore. That was _after_ you asked her out on a date." Ron turned his head to face him for emphasis.

Rick held up his hand in defense. "Okay that was definitely uncalled for, but I apologized didn't I?"

Ron sighed deeply. "That's not the point. Rick, I bet you've been told this before; be more considerate of how other people feel when you're talking to them. You can't just say anything you want and end up offending them in a way that you didn't expect. An apology doesn't cover it if you have every chance of helping yourself from doing something that you'll regret." Ron wasn't expecting Rick to take what he said to heart, because past experiences had taught him that the raven haired didn't strike him at all as the kind of person to learn a new lesson and keep it to heart.

This became all the more surprising when Rick ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't mean for it to go that way."

Ron slowed his pace to a halt to stare at the other man. Rick shrugged as he continued. "I was just trying to cheer Meredith up. That's all what I really wanted to do. Guess I blew it huh?"

The blonde's face scrunched up into a small frown before he relaxed and gave Rick a pat on the back. "Well…no use in dwelling on something that's done. Now go back to your isle, we still have work to do."

**Later…**

As promised, Ron was towing his bike towards Greg's car, with the older man already at the driver's seat waiting for him.

"Where's the briefcase Ron?" Greg whispered urgently.

"Over here. I managed to hide it in my locker since this morning," Ron reassured while holding the briefcase up for Greg to see. "So, mind telling me where this lab of yours is?

"Just follow my lead and you'll see," Greg stated before starting up his engine, with Ron following suit.

"Can I humor you by taking a guess? It's in a cave, isn't it?" Ron said as he strapped his helmet on.

Greg paused and slowly veered his head towards Ron; his face scrunched up in genuine confusion. "A cave? Ronald, do you have any idea how unsanitary a cave is? Plus the work I have to put into actually making it habitable, let alone suitable for a stable workplace? Not to mention the obvious disadvantage of the lighting and ventilation in case of an accident or emergency…"

Ron's hand quickly shot up. "Okay, okay I get it! You - you can stop now Greg, I'm sorry. Jesus!"

"A cave…ridiculous!" Greg muttered as he turned on the ignition. "I mean, where did you even get such an idea Ronald?"

"The Fearless Ferret," Ron stated simply.

"Who?" Greg raised an eyebrow at the younger man.

"Okay you haven't heard of him." Ron moistened his lips in thought. "Uh…how about Batman?"

"Who?!" Greg persisted, although his tone was now laced with irritation.

Ron would have slapped himself silly, if only to verify that Greg wasn't the least bit kidding at his unfamiliarity towards a well-known icon.

"Never mind," Ron sighed, before revving up his engine.

Without another word, the two drove off the premises and into the road.

…

Only to shortly meet up with traffic. "Goddamit… " Ron muttered as he hung his head.

* * *

**Next chapter will be up later. The action is coming soon.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Copyright Disclaimer: Kamen Rider Faiz is under Toei while Kim Possible is under Disney. I claim no ownership on either franchise.**

* * *

Traffic didn't take long as both men were on their way again to the intended location of Greg's lab. Along the road, Ron noticed that less and less people were out in the streets now. While this wasn't exactly unusual given any other day, it was a familiar scene that had been happening _every_ night for the past half-decade.

The increase in vigilance in security started emerging when a string of gruesome murders were perpetrated approximately five years ago and persisted to this day - with no signs of stopping according to investigators.

While this could have been attributed to the usual serial killer, what baffled law enforcement officials and investigators alike was that the murders seemed to have been occurring in different areas at about the same time - with differing patterns of the how, where and when. One thing was certain about these killings that linked them together was that almost all of the victims' bodies seemed to have been mutilated, with autopsy determining that the killer(s) started from the heart and went from there.

Another terrifying aspect about the murders; more specifically the victims themselves, is what happened to their bodies after a few days to weeks had passed - disintegrating to dust.

The revelation of this was at first branded as a rumor that was being spread by usual conspiracy sites or just baseless hype, but after the first two years and the case was still open and cold, officials were forced to fess up after video evidence had been leaked and eye witness accounts kept piling up. This resulted in directing the citizenry to take drastic measures; earlier curfews, police stationed on almost every street corner and areas that usually served as public leisure spots being closed down or restricted.

In addition to the murders, many states in America had reported an increase in missing persons ranging from teenagers to young adults - never children or elderly. Another significant lead that the police had to this case was that the victims were all healthy based on their medical histories and records.

Human and organ trafficking were the usual suspects this time, but both met dead ends when there were absolutely no reports or findings from the black market of any of the victims' organs being sold, nor was there any sign of their whereabouts in any part of the world at all. It was like they had literally vanished from the face of the earth.

Politicians didn't exactly take this situation lying down, with a good number of representatives and spokespersons crying out for a stricter policy on monitoring day to day activity. The public outcry and subsequent backlash of such suggestions however, were lidded with heavy implications that the country was slowly being transformed into an actual police state.

Many critics even pointed out that the Government itself might have been employing an elaborate scare tactic to rile the citizens up into accepting such outrageous policies.

Sadly, even various religious factions who took their faith a little too close to heart went on their usual tirades of the end times being near - only with increased fervor, which more than once lead to riotous chaos.

A sign from God they would say.

It wasn't even a surprise when other countries started to have the same bizarre occurrences. The situation had gotten so bad that Global Justice - in addition to monitoring super villains and the usual terrorists - had their work cut out for them when the President himself wanted them to handle the crisis and do damage control, with Doctor Director becoming desperate enough to call on Team Possible for assistance once again.

Kim gave her a persistent "no" just like all of their other negotiations of trying to get the redhead back in the saddle. That wasn't to say that Kim didn't feel guilty about her refusal, and had tried to mount her own investigation on the matter with some assistance from Wade, who at that time was just starting out working with Felix in the Middleton Space Center.

Unfortunately, she was reprimanded for her unauthorized involvement by various law enforcement, stating that while they did recognize her valiant service in the past and are all the more grateful to her, the times - as they say - had indeed changed.

Seeing this, her parents reinforced their encouragement on her to focus more on her medical studies to earn a doctorate in Pediatrics; a request she eventually conceded to, and with little to no reluctance if it meant that she was going to help people anyway.

In regard to the super villain community, Jack Hench of Hench Co. had released a statement about two years ago that SMART BRAIN was buying them out.

Correction, it had _already_ bought them out when their stocks plummeted down due to an unfortunate lack of foresight.

Admittedly, Jack had denied that some of his employees were making backdoor dealings with SMART BRAIN right under his nose to at least save face - or that the company in question was threatening him in some way to keep quiet.

As a result, various warrants on Mr. Hench's head - which numbered by the _thousands - _were eventually brought up to speed and without his company or money to back him up, he had no choice but to make deals with the right people to be given a lighter sentence.

The trade-off? Detailed accounts of his entire clientele - most of which consisted of some of the most notorious criminals on the planet and even some that were clean under the public eye - to say that history was in the making didn't even cover how much everything was changing at that point. It was like GJ had been given an early year Christmas gift.

SMART BRAIN - a company that was once obscure and unheard of, had made headlines literally overnight. When it counted, the company had indeed delivered on their promises. That wasn't to say that it wasn't under any scrutiny as well. Events leading up to such sudden success couldn't just attributed to mere coincidences as stated by many critics, which of course did nothing to deter SB's steady rise up the ladder. After all, what was a little bad publicity?

...

Going to the very outskirts of town, Ron and Greg stopped by an abandoned warehouse district.

"_Well, at least it's something familiar_," Ron thought as he dismounted from his scooter.

"We're here, oh uh…don't get off your bike Ronald. I suggest you brace yourself. I'm just gonna open the garage," Greg elaborated as he reached for the gear stick and opening the top.

"Any particular reason why? What garage?" Ron asked as he slowly got back into his scooter.

"Just wait for it son, you'll see," Greg replied before pressing the button.

For a brief moment the world became silent - literally, as Ron's surroundings suddenly became devoid of anything that was remotely sound. From the late afternoon breeze to the creaking of rusted out metal parts that were littered across the district - nothing.

Ron instantly became unnerved. He tried to speak out to Greg who was - much to his astonishment - still calmly sitting by the driver seat, but no words seemed to have escaped his mouth. Agitated, Ron was about to dismount his scooter again when a blinding light engulfed them.

The next thing Ron knew was that he was still seated on his scooter, but everything else around him had changed. Instead of the eerily empty warehouses and scattered scrap piles, he was now in a large barely lit room. It was empty - save for Greg's car that was next to hi - with its driver having exited the vehicle and was now slowly walking up to him.

Ron surveyed his surroundings one more time before his gaze fell on Greg as the older man neared him, "Uh…care to tell me where we are?" Ron was ready to make a break for it in case things went south, but Greg just calmly gestured for the younger man to follow him.

Ron quickly snapped his helmet off but decided to hold on to it in case he needed something to defend himself with. Reluctantly, he followed Greg from behind a safe distance, all the while whirling around to take in as much as he could of the place.

"Welcome to my garage Ronald!" Greg pronounced with his arms spread as he turned around to the blonde, who was still glancing around nervously before both them made eye contact.

"I'm guessing you want answers now, right?" Greg asked, with Ron nodding a bit frantically in return with his mouth hanging slightly open.

Greg clapped his hands together. "Alright, first off. I would just like to clarify that the location we are in is classified. In order to help avoid detection or tracking, the garage is situated in a different location in the world every time someone - meaning me or us right now for that matter, enters it via a dimensional rift."

"What?" Ron had understood _most_ of what he was just told. Greg sighed as he hung his head at the blonde's ineptness.

"We are currently in a separate dimension which I created Ron. For example, if someone were to enter a warehouse like the kind that we were just outside of, the interior would be empty - in their perspective, but in our perspective we are occupying that very space at that moment," Greg explained as best as he could.

Ron's expression - which was that of absolute confusion - did not falter. Somewhat exasperated by this, Greg waved the explanation off as insignificant at the moment.

"Follow me to my lab Ron and I'll fill you in." The older man gestured for the blonde to follow him, with Ron reluctantly complying. As they walked through a door leading into a hallway, Ron noticed that it was dim, but of course, he had no problem with it since he could see in the dark just fine.

"_At least it seems air conditioned_. Just tell me what's going on Greg," Ron said as he found his voice again.

Greg let out a small sigh. "Long story short my boy is that SMART BRAIN is not what the public nowadays assume it to be. You may not readily believe this, but it's not just a company that is into developing weapons and other technology, but an organization composed entirely of creatures known as Orphnochs."

Ron raised an eyebrow, "Orph-wha?"

"Orphnochs…the next stage of humanity's evolution; or rather, that's what they would like themselves to believe."

Ron stopped himself from scoffing, "Come on, really? This is a joke right?"

"I wish it was, but now is not the time for such luxuries," Greg stated solemnly as he turned to consider the blonde.

"Greg, please tell me that you're just delusional." Ron ran a free hand through his hair as his hope that Greg had just invited him over for an elaborate prank was correct.

The old scientist however gave him a somber look before pressing a button on the wall next to him, which opened a door leading to a bright white room.

Ron peeked inside as Greg entered briskly while beckoning the former to follow. The blonde gaped in amazement at the sights before him. Lined against the walls were computers and equipment that he swore were far too advance for today's public models - not unlike many that he would find from their past clients' laboratories.

On the monitors were various plans and schematics, one of which caught Ron's attention as it seemed to be outlined in a humanoid shape - perhaps an android or cyborg? In the middle of the room was an overly long table with a wide scanner like device suspended over it. From across his far right was a wide glass-paned window that had a view of an empty room with an access hatch by the side.

"I'll make this as quick and simple as it can be for you Ronald." Greg took out a small remote from his pocket and pressed a button, activating a wide holo-screen by the paned glass.

Various images and scenes ran through the screen for the blonde to see, with many of them being past news reports to the murders and kidnappings.

"SMART BRAIN is more than meets the eye. The entire company is a front for - like I said - beings known as Orphnochs," an image of a grey armored, humanoid creature suddenly emerged and overtook a large portion of the screen, "as you can see for yourself, this is an example of one of them. Note the various animal-like features, which is actually an adaptation mechanism employed by the virus when it converts a human host. This is in order to better suit an envir-"

"I thought I was the only one…" Ron muttered, breaking Greg away from his exposition. The scientist slowly leveled his gaze towards Ron, who was staring blankly at the screen before him.

What came next was something that would have been more at home in a horror movie. Ron dropped his helmet to the floor before he inhaled deeply as markings started to appear on his face. With a loud bellow that left Greg covering his ears and backing away, Ron's body began to change. Glass instruments and screens shattered or cracked from the force, along with various electrical equipment malfunctioning.

His clothes disappeared in a blur, with his body becoming more defined as he grew in size. His skin gradually turned into a pale grey, with blade like protrusions jutting out of his arms that went up to his shoulders, while a pair of claw like 'hands' sprang out of his upper back.

At the same time, body armor seemed to literally grow out of his skin, while his legs seemed to bend back to that of a canine's, followed shortly by claws emerging from his hands and feet. A small tail could be seen growing out of his lower back.

Ron's head morphed along with his body, with his face becoming encased - or converting - into a helmet like mask with the same blade like protrusions at the sides of his head, giving off the impression of jagged fur. To top it off, the upper part of the 'mask' resembled the shape of a wolf's head along with a visible tuft of actual grey fur running down his scalp.

His eyes; which a moment ago were a chocolate brown, were now a cold, menacing grey.

Greg; who has had his fair share of witnessing the transformation time and time again, still gaped in awe at the creature that Ron had become.

"_So…the experiment _was_ a success…_"


	9. Chapter 9

**Copyright Disclaimer: Kamen Rider Faiz is under Toei while Kim Possible is under Disney. I claim no ownership on either franchise.**

* * *

Have you ever had that feeling in which the absolute worst thing that happened to you _wasn't_ the absolute worst thing that could ever happen to you? No? Well Ron did. He thought that the absolute worst thing that could have ever happened to him was the plane crash.

One fateful night would all but shatter his gross opinion on the matter.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

_**Flashback…one year ago**_

"_What the hell_!?"

Earlier that day, Ron had gone to the physician with his parents to see about his intense muscle spasms along with his regular check-ups.

Oddly enough, the doctor didn't see anything unusual and alluded it to chronic pain which was a symptom of depression, but he did advise Ron to be cautious regarding his cholesterol levels since eating disorders were somewhat more common.

Then after that they went to his therapist who had recommended to his parents that Ron continue with taking his anti-depressants since he was already showing signs of improvement.

Unfortunately, what he didn't expect was how said meds would have…side-effects (or so he thought).

...

"W-what's happened to me…?" Ron's voice cracked, which had slightly deepened from the transformation. Grey eyes stared back from his reflection at the mirror as his hands frantically felt up his facial features. His human head now appeared to be an amalgamation of man and wolf with jagged edges at the sides and a mask covering his mouth.

His eyes; which were now a pale grey, were bulging in fear as his breathing became heavy. What the hell was going on?

That, along with a good number of other questions, was going through his mind.

"_OHMIGODOHMIGODOHMIGOD_! _What the actual fuck just happened to me_!?

Ron proceeded to look down and examine the rest of his body. His clothes were gone and his skin had become a pale grey, with body armor; or what he hoped was just armor, overwhelming his entire person.

Dagger-like blades protruded out of his arms and aligned themselves up to his forearm, while his legs were bent back like that of a canine. His hands and feet were also longer, with claws extending from the tips. His height had increased slightly, with broader shoulders and muscles that caused him to hunch over a bit.

Now, to whoever might be witnessing this from an audience's perspective would think it to be the coolest thing ever. The stereotypical scenario from your run-of-the-mill Saturday morning shows projecting this sort of thing would go like this; guy transforms into a badass monster that could probably take on a tank, save the girl, beat the bad guy and all is well with the world.

That's…not even remotely what would actually happen in real life. No, it really wouldn't so stop deluding yourself.

Steeling himself from the mirror, Ron slowly walked up to his bed and fell to his knees by the foot of it. He was completely lost and horrified as to how he became like this. Before changing, his body had gone into another spasm, only much more painful than any of his other fits than before. It was like his body was literally tearing itself apart that time.

The pain itself had been too great for him to endure that he hollered out in agony before almost collapsing. Fortunately; or unfortunately, whichever way, he managed to catch himself out of the shock when he first caught sight of his hands. Then again, he probably shouldn't have been so loud.

"Ron, honey? Are you okay in there?" It was his mother.

Panic overcame Ron in an instant. He briefly stole a glance at the mirror and planted his attention to the door. How was he going to explain this? Hell, how in the world was this even possible? Okay, he's seen some pretty weird stuff through the years from his adventures before like that Jackal wrestler guy, and even being mutated into a beaver hybrid once; but he was cured of the latter in the end so it wasn't any big.

He would have included Mystical Monkey Power, if it wasn't for the fact that it was; in actuality, an utter myth. And that Monkey Fist was simply a deluded nutcase that went totally overboard with genetically modifying his body and subsequently ruining his life for a power fantasy.

Now, he was debating with himself on whether to come clean to his mother or crawl under the bed and pray that this was all just some bad dream from something he ate. Fortunately; and without meaning to, his body changed back to normal. He looked into the mirror again to confirm it and indeed, he was back to being pasty skinned Ron Stoppable again.

A knock on the door broke him from his shock. "Ronald, I'm coming in!" Andrea "Andy" Stoppable opened the door to her son's room and aside from the usual mess plus her son staring blankly at his own reflection, there wasn't really anything that was out of the ordinary.

She crossed her arms and cleared her throat. "Ronald, have you taken your meds?"

It took about a second for Ron to turn his gaze to his mother with the same blank expression on his face and his mouth hanging open.

The two stared awkwardly at each other in silence before Ron found his voice again. "I-uh…yeah…yeah I did. Um…sorry about the scream mom, I just took a short nap and had the usual nightmare again, then I took one before you got in."

Andy's stare at her son did not waver, but her eyes softened a bit before walking up to her boy to hug him. "Get some sleep Ronald. We'll talk more tomorrow, alright?"

Ron's eyes fell as he felt his mother's love. "Yeah…yeah thanks…"

The next day, Ron was sitting on his bed reminiscing on what happened last night. He wasn't sure whether it was indeed real or just another nightmare, but the thought alone of what had happened sent a chill down his spine. That didn't stop his curiosity however, if only to assure himself that it was all just a wild figment of his imagination.

Looking down at his arm, he flexed it a few times before focusing on it. After about a few minutes he didn't feel anything, nor was there any significant change. His resolve wavered a bit for a moment, but willed himself to try it one more time before going down for breakfast. Ron took a deep breath, curled the observed hand into a fist and started concentrating. After a few seconds of nothing Ron let out a grunt and fell back onto his pillow.

He was about to dismiss last night's oddity when his arm started to act up as the muscles gave in to another spasm attack. Ron quickly sat up to grab his arm and reel from the pain. It felt just like last night, probably even more so, but only his arm seemed to react this time. Before he could give in and cry out from the agony his arm twisted and morphed how it had been from the previous night; claws, plating and blades in all.

Ron froze as he stared at his now altered limb, his breathing steadying to shallow huffs as an eerie silence seemed to have befallen the room. For the next few minutes he just sat there on his bed stunned and stared blankly at his arm, not looking away in the slightest.

"_It's not real_! _It's not real_!_ It's not real_! _It's not real_!" Went his thoughts in a seemingly desperate attempt to make it go away and convince himself that it was just another hallucination; just like all the others. Carefully, he ran a finger through some of the blades and accidentally cut himself from the sharpness, but the pain from it still wasn't enough to convince him as the wound healed almost immediately.

His temper boiling up, Ron ran his thumb through a blade and made an even bigger gash. "_Gah_!" He curled up from the wound and panted, with some of the blood dripping onto his sheets and shirt. Ron didn't care however as the wound instantly healed up, but how he was going to explain to his parents on why his blood ended up on his sheets and his person would be another challenge all on its own since he had already entertained the idea of taking his own life once before.

Hesitation gripped him as he closed his eyes tightly, hoping to will it all away; his arm, the blood…his whole world. Just to make all of the pain go away once and for all.

The faint call of his name snapped him out of his stupor. "Ronald? What on earth!?" Andrea exclaimed as he examined her son from the door, with him hunched over in bed as he looked at her and seemingly close to tears.

Redirecting her eyes to the blood on his comforter next to his very normal arm prompted her to run up to her son and grab him by the shoulders in a panic. "Ron! Ron look at me, what did you do!?" When Ron did not give her an answer she too became desperate. "Elliot! Elliot, get up here!"

Ron's father Elliot shortly appeared by the door, panting from running up the stairs. He reacted the same way as he saw the blood and was beckoned over by his wife.

_**Present…**_

The memory of that morning was still fresh even as he was standing before Greg in his full form in the middle of the ruin that was once the latter's lab.

Ron Stoppable; in all of his terrifying glory as the Wolf Orphnoch.

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**Update: I regularly rewrite and edit chapters for a smoother reading experience. I'm sure we've all been through that problem before. I actually care about my readers to not get headaches from confusion. Enjoy!**

**Update: Mystical Monkey Power in this universe doesn't actually exist, while Tai Shing Pek Kwar on the other hand does. This is because it is an actual real life martial arts. The Montgomery Fisk here is just a delusional lunatic who thought that there was something mystical or magical about it, since he suffered from a nervous breakdown after his parents died, as well as the pressure of being an archaeologist finally getting to him. Unlike in canon where Ron was _invited_ to Yamanouchi via the student exchange program, here, Kim recommended that he go there during their summer vacation to learn how to properly fight.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Copyright Disclaimer: Kamen Rider Faiz is under Toei while Kim Possible is under Disney. I claim no ownership on either franchise.**

* * *

A few hours after Ron's rather, vivid transformation, he and Greg were sitting quietly in the middle of the now wrecked laboratory of the latter's. The older man also went out of his way in assuring Ron that he needn't worry about any financial restitution that would have been involved.

"This? Ronald, a little elbow grease and some shoe shine and I'll have this place good as new. How do you think all of this even got here? People throw out all kinds of junk these days let me tell 'ya," Greg stated, accompanied by a smile and cups of coffee for the both of them.

Ron was still busy reeling from the experience of having just transformed in front of someone or hell, the very fact that he did it at all, and although such a task wasn't as "difficult" as it was before, he was still; in all essence, getting used to it.

Ron took the cup as best he could without dropping it while his hands were shaking, since he was still fresh from changing back which always left him a bit disoriented; not that he always did it often for obvious reasons.

Both men went silent as they calmly drank, with Greg taking a few quick glances at Ron every now and then. The blonde on the other hand wasn't exactly in any mood to do much of anything. After that display, he wasn't even certain if he could catch a good lick of sleep tonight.

What bothered him above all else however, was how amiably Greg took it all in. Of course the older man already told him that he knew what he had just turned into a few moments ago and seemed to have already been on the verge of enlightening him on just exactly what an Orpha…Orfu…whatever the hell those things were called.

After finishing their drinks, Greg took the cups to the sink - which somehow managed to stay intact - and left them there to be washed later. The old scientist heaved a sigh as he walked up to Ron, who still seemed a bit out of it, and threaded a hand through his graying hair.

Whatever inconvenience it may have been for his instruments to be damaged because of the blonde's rather enthusiastic demonstration, it was still all worth it if it was going to get them somewhere.

Greg sat back on his chair and hunched over to level his gaze to Ron's face, who was hunched a lot lower and seemed almost catatonic. Licking the dryness of his lips away, Greg checked his watch and saw that it was already a quarter to 7 - sometimes he wished that old saying would take a rain check.

Clearing his throat, Greg decided it was now or never. "So…how long have you been able to do that?"

Expecting for the younger man to remain silent, he was relieved and slightly surprised that Ron still managed to respond; albeit, in a small whisper, "About a year ago…"

Greg tightened his lips as his eyes fell on the floor. "Do you know what you just turned into a moment ago?"

"No…not exactly…do you?" Ron's eyes traveled up to level with Greg's, who noticed that they were lacking the blonde's usual composure.

"Ronald, I'll be more than happy to explain everything to you, but you and I have to make a few promises first. I promise that I will tell you the truth, but what I cannot promise is that I will tell you everything. Be patient, we have to go through this one at a time and not just jump right into it, because…you might not be able to take it all in regarding your…condition."

Ron hesitated before giving a single nod. "Second, you have to listen and try to understand that I am being your friend and ally here. I don't need you to trust me, I just want you to know and understand that I mean you no harm in any way at all…you've been through too much of that already."

Ron nodded again, although he looked away quickly from unease. Greg cleared his throat again and adjusted his glasses.

"You are an Orphnoch Ron, which is the name of the creatures of whom I'm about to introduce to you. As for the how and the why, let's focus on the how first. About two decades ago, four people came by to my apartment on Jan. 2, 1994 at about 11 in the evening.

"They called themselves The Lucky Clover. Back then, I had just gotten rejected for a patent that I was trying to apply for regarding one of my inventions, a phone not unlike some of the modern flip phones that were developed, or rather _stolen_ by that hack company Dynatron two years later," Greg scoffed in frustration.

"You probably know how this story goes; I was at the end of my rope, my rent was shot and I was about to get evicted. It wasn't really far off for me to have been desperate during that time, which is exactly what the four of them were counting on. Hell, I would have given away my kidney if it could keep me afloat for just another week and a bite to eat," the light in Greg's eyes, or what was left, seemed to have vanished as he reminisced such unsavory memories.

"I was so…dejected, it felt like the whole world thought I was just worthless trash waiting to be kicked to the curb. That was until the four found me. They explained that they had belonged to an ancient race of humans that had evolved separately from prehistoric man. At first of course, I didn't believe them, but they shortly convinced me otherwise. I instantly became fascinated with them, and so, for the next 5 years they allowed me to study them; their culture, their language, everything."

The smirk on Greg's face broke into a scowl. "Through my research I was able to find out that they had descended from a faction of Homo Habilis dating back to the Pleistocene period where they had experienced a dramatic spike in evolution through contact of a mysterious organism.

"Now, the organism was unlike anything that I had ever seen before, a true wonder of nature. Like a virus, it seemed to thrive by spreading throughout the host's cellular makeup and re-writing everything bit by bit, but unlike normal viruses, it doesn't just implement its signature into cells, but supercharges them.

"This causes a dramatic change in the host's body by gradually mutating them to become accustomed to various environmental hazards, almost like some kind of defense mechanism to help it and the host survive. You can probably imagine that back then, life wasn't just a walk in the park. Every single day was a struggle and challenge to develop and hone the skills necessary that many of us seem to take for granted today.

"For Orphnochs, the organism not only granted them enhanced physical capabilities, but the means to withstand changes in the season and adapt to extremely hazardous environments. Additionally, their bodies became reinforced with an incredibly durable, bone-like hide that's strong enough to withstand anti-tank weaponry, with their senses also augmented beyond that of both humans and animals in order to better hunt," Greg ignored Ron's furrowed expression.

"However, there were a few drawbacks. The organism would lay dormant inside a host if not exposed to a certain trigger or stimulant. During that time, it would slowly eat away at the body simply to satiate its need for sustenance; proteins and whatnot. In time, the organism will cause the host body to breakdown and disintegrate into dust if left unchecked or outright rejected. The virus will only become truly active if the host ceases to function and the body is significantly damaged in death. This causes the organism to overcompensate for the loss by regenerating the body and 'improving' certain liberties to increase the chances of survival.

"This only applies to "Reborn" Orphnochs. The Lucky Clover are naturals because they're descended from a progenitor species, which means they were Orphnochs from the day they were born."

Greg stopped to catch his breath and take a moment to observe Ron's reaction. So far, the blonde was just sitting calmly by his seat hunched over, but the older man knew that he was listening intently. Greg hoped that this would finally shed some light on years of unanswered question, if only by a little, but knew that it would give birth to new ones - questions that he wished were a lot simpler.

"In the midst of it all, The Lucky Clover explained that their people had been in hiding amongst humanity for centuries, quietly minding their own business without anyone being the wiser. Of course, throughout that time a couple of them would screw up every now and then and there would be various sightings, mysteries and the occasional tabloid. Remember Bigfoot?"

Ron nodded.

"That was an Orphnoch Ronald. How about the Lochness Monster?"

Ron didn't respond, but Greg took it all the same. "Orphnoch. The Jersey Devil." Ron eye's widened a bit.

"That too. Crypto zoologists have been going after false leads and cold trails for years, with none of them ever figuring out that the various creatures of myth were humans themselves all along. It'd be laughable if the irony couldn't be any more obvious," Greg chuckled before tightening his lips shut to clear his throat.

Greg then continued, "Now you probably want to know how you come into this, don't you Ron?" Ron was still silent, but Greg didn't need for the blonde to give him an indication anymore.

"We'll get to that shortly, now after everything was said and done, I became an honorary member of the Lucky Clover and together we founded a company in Japan. The ensuing decade for us was hard, bitter work and we made many sacrifices," Greg's face fell. "We couldn't start in America because at the time, Japan's economy and development was at their height and we wanted a crack at it, but also because there were many native Orphnochs there that we wanted to recruit.

"I was made their chief scientist and basically the man in charge of dishing out their stock. Needless to say I felt like I was finally given a chance to flourish in my work. Together we built everything from the ground up and before long we became more than prominent enough to compete and expand. The company came to be known as SMART BRAIN."

Greg couldn't help a small smile of nostalgia come to him before he scowled again. "Then…after that, reality caught up with me, with all of us. I had discovered a few years ago that everything that the Lucky Clover did was all part of their plan in a bid for world domination to push the Orphnoch race as humanity's conquerors and ruling species. At first I tried to sweep all of it under the rug when they told me that it was for the good of mankind…it doesn't really take much for the dream to turn into a nightmare afterwards does it?"

Greg sighed heavily as he got up from his seat and stretched. "Now comes the part that you've been waiting for Ronald. SMART BRAIN's CEO and one of the original members of Lucky Clover, as well as my one time good friend Avery Westlake, came up with a plan to topple several major players that would pose as a threat to the company. Scouting for you was just a part of that grand plan which consisted of a sick experiment that I, for ethical reasons, was not made a part of; nor was I even made aware of it. But if I was…" Greg ran a hand over his face, "If I was I would have done everything in my power to stop it…all those people." the scientist's demeanor fell even lower as he trailed off.

Ron shifted in his seat to observe Greg's demeanor, and although he still couldn't quite bring himself to fully trust the man, he empathized with him.

"It was supposed to be an experiment to test out a new strain of the Orphnoch virus that one of their agents had developed. To see if it could yield any new variations, and tragically, only one managed to pass."

Ron closed his eyes and took a deep breath; it was him. He, out of all of those people that had perished during that fateful day, was the only one to successfully become SMART BRAIN's personal lab rat. His temper, which had calmed not just an hour ago, was rising again in outrage at the great injustice that had been perpetrated simply for some twisted science experiment.

"_I should have gone along with them_…" he thought, but stopped himself when a brief image of Kim mourning brought him out of it.

But wait!

"Does that mean…I died?" Ron asked, remembering what Greg mentioned earlier. Greg paused for a moment to compose himself for what would probably be a major blow to the young man.

"Yes…the virus wouldn't have become active if you didn't."

Ron became slack jawed as his eyes seemed to have popped out of his sockets. "But that's…if I died then…how…?" This was unbelievable! The blonde was absolutely beside himself with the realization that his life was literally and metaphorically no longer his own.

Ron didn't even know what to say or even think as his face fell into his hands. Greg just sat back in his seat and solemnly looked on, figuring that just giving the blonde a pat on the shoulder would set him off.

"Just how…were these people even human to begin with? Why? Oh God why…? Ron trailed off, his voice cracking from grief.

Was this some cruel joke? Did the universe play him for a fool again? How and why? Two words intermingling within him as he tried to rationalize what he had just learned.

"You're lying…this has to be a lie!" Ron got up from his seat with balled fists and a glare that sent a chill of guilt down Greg's spine.

The scientist merely closed his eyes and shook his head. "Really? Really that's the best you got!? That's the best of your so-called explanation!"

Ron's eyes frantically scanned the room to see if there were any cameras or anything that would rank this all as some kind of elaborate prank.

"Fuck this…fuck you and fuck your bullshit! I'm leaving!" Greg made no effort to stop him as the young man marched his way towards the door and straight for the garage. Only shortly did Greg follow to find Ron mounted on his scooter and in the midst of strapping his helmet on.

"How do I get out of here?"

Greg just stood there motionless without a word, his eyes trained at Ron to expect anything other than contempt or anger, but alas, the situation could not warrant him anything less.

"You either get me out of this _shit_hole right now or I'll tear it all apart along with you!" Ron seethed with rage as his glare hardened. Another minute or so passed before Greg calmly slipped a hand into his pocket where the remote was and pressed the button to transport Ron back. All that was left of the spot on where he stood were gleams of energy circling around before dispersing.

* * *

**This chapter took me a particularly long time to research for because I didn't finish medicine, so if there are any glaring errors please don't be shy to notify me.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Copyright Disclaimer: Kamen Rider Faiz is under Toei while Kim Possible is under Disney. I claim no ownership on either franchise.**

* * *

**May 19, 2014 – Monday**

Ron was sitting quietly in the Smarty Mart lounge. Figuring that he needed a break from just 4 hours of mind numbing stress from having to attend to the afternoon customers, he wasn't in any mood at all when some of the guys started teasing him about his girlfriend.

"_Thanks a lot Rick_!"

It had been 5 days since Ron had that talk with Greg. The blonde still recalled that night with disdain. After having been teleported out of Greg's artificial dimension, Ron booked out of there in a heartbeat back to his apartment and locked the door. The day followed with him deciding to skip work. When he came back he couldn't even be bothered to explain to his manager his reason, but the latter at least understood since she had seen his medical records before so she didn't really hold it against him.

Also, since Ron was one of the better-rounded of them despite his condition, the slack was more than enough to be considered fair, but he was given a warning that the next infraction would head straight to suspension.

For the rest of his absence, Ron debated with himself on whether what Greg told him was true or not. He had tried his best to at least forget about everything that he had learned and rationalized it to some grand delusion or fantasy the man was trying to emulate, but alas, the most glaring evidence to back it all up couldn't be any more close by.

"_I can't be dead_!"

His therapist once said to him that repeating something in his head would help him during an episode or anxiety attack, whether it would be motivational or just something to help calm his nerves. Then again, the results of this technique had varied. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes he wished his therapist would go suck a lemon for his troubles.

Ron even tried a few times to remember, but like all of his other attempts to recall that day he just couldn't get a clear picture of the events. He still recalled his going into the airport, next was entering the docking bay and getting comfortable in his seat. After waiting for what seemed like a few hours, the plane took off and Ron ate at least two servings of airline food.

He then made a few calls at home before taking a nap. After that, he spent the next few hours playing some games on his phone while struggling to pay attention to the movie which didn't seem all that good. Something about a father and son going on some space trek to a barren planet - it was too boring for him to pay attention.

Another few hours would see him going to sleep after having to sit for too long and essentially doing nothing. After he woke up, things seemed normal until the captain made an announcement that one of the engines had failed. The atmosphere instantly transpired quickly from serene to subdued panic. Ron - in typical fashion - was a lot more vocal in his handling of the situation.

"_Oh man_! _We're gonna crash_! _We're going down_! _I'm too young to die_!"

Which didn't exactly fare well with the attendants and passengers, who would have _really_ preferred that Ron shut up or wasn't with them at that time. Yet another thing to add to his guilt list, because out of all the things that those people could have seen or heard in their last moments, it had to be his whining.

After another engine failed, the passengers started to stand up and express their fear. Ron, who in a moment of clarity despite being more terrified than he had ever been and somehow hiding up in the luggage compartment, took out his phone and tried to call Kim to mount a rescue.

And that is where it all stopped.

The next thing Ron knew was waking up within the wreckage of the plane and seeing many of the passengers and staff strewed across the ruins as corpses.

Additionally to how he blacked out before being thrust into that pool of death and destruction, there were still discrepancies to his recollection of events pertaining to that moment when he was traversing through hazardous obstacles - then again he wasn't exactly a stickler for detail when his life was on the line.

Reluctantly, Ron decided to test out some of the things that Greg had told him about being an Orphnoch. Before, he hadn't had the motivation do so since his transformations were very limited ever since his first time and also because he almost never bothered to learn what he _could_ do out of fear of being discovered. To think that all this time there were others like him, and if what Greg said was _indeed_ true about their agenda then maybe he could find some use in being a hulking monstrosity in the near future…provided he didn't get carried away.

First he started out small, like pricking his arm and hands with a needle. Next came the stove where he spent well over half an hour trying to see if he was fire proof and wouldn't you know it, he was; although he still felt the warmth of the flames. Then he tried penetrating the armored plating with one of his kitchen knives.

It broke after a few stabs and slashes without one scratch to show for it.

The results were more than impressive, to say the least, and he was speculating if this was still the tip of the iceberg on what he was indeed capable of. If anything of what Greg said made any sense at all, is that he was now basically a super powered freak with nigh impenetrable armor and who knows what else on his plate.

He slept in late that night and woke up the next day to his afternoon shift.

His fingers were steepled together as he contemplated his next move. Tell Kim? Hell no! There are so many things that could go wrong with that, with the most subdued reaction being the assumption that he wasn't taking his meds regularly. His parents? He'd probably just give them a heart attack. Lord knows he's been giving them enough stress already.

Guess he was alone, well maybe not entirely. The only other person that he could count as someone that wouldn't rat him out was Greg, despite the animosity and distrust he persistently felt towards the man as of current.

He was broken out of his musings by a hand on his shoulder. "You gonna sit here all night Ron or are you gonna get back to work? We only have 2 hours left anyway." The first name that came to mind when he felt a presence next to him was Rick, but he softened when it was just one of his other co-workers Norma Hayes.

Norma was one of the more mild-mannered and older of the crew. Married and with 3 kids to help support, as well as being stocky at 5'3, she had that "soccer mom" vibe down to a T. Even so, she always had a smile on her face whenever someone would talk to her or attending to a customer, and if Ron didn't know any better, Norma's would always be genuine.

"Thanks Norma, and sorry." Ron stood up and stretched, while Norma hand waved the apology.

"Don't be Ronald. We all need a break every once in a while, but in your case it's a requirement. Look, I've been meaning to pay you back for taking over my shift for me last week anyway, so what do you say I take up an hour for you and call it even?"

Ron was always peeved about taking over shifts from the others, but if it meant overtime there really wasn't any room for him to voice out his complaint, but every once in a while he wished that he'd get off earlier and not have to deal with someone bailing out to do shit that he really didn't give a damn about.

Norma however, had the legitimate excuse of being a working mom. Still, he was grateful that there were people like her around the workforce, not that he'd ever tell her that out of some perceived sense of false flattery.

All Ron really could do was express it in the simplest way possible, as he didn't want to push his luck; as tumultuous as it was already.

"By the way Norma, you be careful tonight okay?" Ron remarked as he opened the door.

"Don't worry Ron, and thanks, but I heard that there haven't been any incidents around here for months and you can trust me to look after myself." her lips curved into that same smile she would give everyone else, which Ron could only return as he went back to another hour of what he would always inwardly refer to as 'a little piece of hell'.

**Later…**

The ride to his apartment had been uneventful, but he couldn't really expect much from deserted streets save for a few patrol cars going about. Before he could go up, the woman at the desk - Fran Foster - called out to him.

"Hey Ron! Some guy was looking for you!"

Ron twisted his gaze to the desk. "Who?"

"Some old guy, but I told him that you were probably doing overtime."

Ron knew instantly who she was talking about. "_Greg..._Did he say anything?"

"Not much. Told him that whenever you get back, you should give him a call or something." Fran gave Ron a piece of paper, with the number written on it presumably being Greg's.

Ron took it hesitantly before thanking Fran and taking the elevator to his floor. The walk up to his room wasn't as enthused as it usually was whenever he got back from work to have some downtime, especially now if it meant having to call that schmuck.

Without another thought, Ron crumpled the note in his hand and threw it at a nearby bin before taking out the key from his pocket. Expectantly, the door would still be locked as he slotted the key in, but to his surprise, it wasn't.

Overcome with a jolt of panic at the thought of having been burglarized, Ron frantically opened the door and turned on the lights to examine the interior. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary or out of place, he plopped himself down on the bed and heaved a heavy sigh of relief.

A few meditative minutes went by before he moved to take off his shoes, but felt something hard under his bed by his heels. Curious, he slipped a hand under the covers obscuring the object and procured; much to his ever mounting bewilderment, the SMART BRAIN briefcase that he had under his possession a week ago.

He distinctly remembered having left the damn thing back at Greg's garage before he went on his way, but somehow it found its way back to him, and he really wasn't in the mood for practical jokes. He also noted that Greg hadn't shown up to work since that day. Either he just quit, skipped town, or he was in his lab going over repairs for the damages that the blonde had caused.

If it was money that Greg wanted then the man had another thing coming. His indignation over the possibility was put on hold however, when he spotted something taped by the logo.

"_Open me_!"

Puzzled and a bit alarmed as he distinctly remembered that the briefcase was booby trapped, he dropped it like a hot potato on the floor. Not a second later did he realize what he just did and mentally slapped himself.

"_Fire in the hole_!" Ron hollered as he jumped for cover in his closet. Holding his breath and praying to anything that the blast radius wasn't as wide as Greg informed him. There he waited tentatively in silence.

After a few minutes had gone by, Ron cautiously opened the door and slowly walked up to the downed container to pick it up. Reprimanding himself for such an embarrassing display, he again sat down on his bed to examine the item in his hands.

"Open me, huh? Just what are you planning Greg?" Ron laid the briefcase next to him and considered following the note, but stopped himself to vigorously scratch the back of his head in irritation.

"_Why the hell should I even bother_?" Ron thought as he got up to get a glass of water from the kitchen. He was exhausted; both physical and mentally, not just from work, but also the revelations that had been plaguing him recently. Why should he concern himself with something as obscure as a briefcase and a guy who probably wants to recruit him for some kind of "plan"?

No! He's done with that! He's done with people using him! For a long time now, he's had more than enough with having been pushed around or being told how to live his life.

It's not like anyone's ever done anything worthwhile for him to show for it! Always treating him like a loser, an outcast, yesterday's news - a complete **_nobody_**. The fact that people actually _expected_ him to just take it all like a bitch was more than frustrating enough.

No! He's not gonna walk back to the bed with glass in hand, put said glass by the lamp drawer, sit back down, pick up the accursed container, feel for the metal edges while savoring the mystery of what could be inside, tentatively reach for the locks and carefully latch them off one by one. Nope! Uh-uh, his mama didn't raise no fool.

"What in the-?" Ron muttered in bewilderment at the items laid before him. While he was relieved that the so-called bomb didn't go off - if there was even one to begin with - he was still a bit lost at what the hype was all about surrounding a belt, a phone, a camera and a flashlight.

Livid, Ron tossed the briefcase next to him in a huff and fell back on the bed. So many questions with no answers. Was the old man trying to drive him even crazier than he already thought himself to be?

Ron closed his eyes hoping that sleep would overtake him, but after about an hour had passed, he silently cursed himself for his ever persistent curiosity. With renewed vigor and outrage, Ron sat up cross legged on the bed and dragged the briefcase in front of him. One by one, he took the items out to inspect them.

First he started with the belt. The accessory was unlike any that he had ever seen before, with an entirely metal frame with a holster on each side and an empty buckle with red outlines and an empty upturned slot in the middle.

Next came the flashlight. Save for a few fancy liberties, it looked just like an everyday, run of the mill flashlight, but what caught his eye was the empty slot by the body. It even functioned like it was supposed to as Ron pressed the switch several times.

The camera was next. Wow; Ron thought, either Greg was still living in the past, or he made this when digital cameras were still an actual thing. It had the same silvery finish as belt and flashlight, square in shape, with a flash, a switch and upon closer inspection - like the flashlight - an empty black slot at the center where the lens was.

He also noticed that the bottom of the camera had a retractable handle. Once he was done with that, the only thing left was the phone.

Great, another relic. Greg did mention that he was the one that originally developed the design for flip phones. Then again, all he had to back up that story was his word and word alone. Still, it looked fancier than most models Ron had ever laid eyes on.

Like all of the others, it was silver but with black edges and a symbol engraved at the center, the very same symbol that Greg had on the hood of his car. Carefully, he flipped it open and found that the screen was lined with a list of numbers with terms next to them. The black SMART BRAIN logo was stamped comfortably between it and the keypad. Intrigued, Ron placed the phone next to his ear but didn't hear anything.

No duh, he thought, he had to dial in a number first to see if it actually worked. Deciding to start simple, he entered his parents' home number. All he got was a busy dial tone - the line must be occupied he reasoned. However, for the next 10 minutes, Ron went through all of the numbers that he knew and all he got was the same tone over and over.

More irritated than lost, he asked himself how on earth did Greg really expect him to get any use out of this. However, if there was one thing that he learned from the world of fighting evil with cool gadgets is that not everything was what it seemed at first glance, remembering all of the stuff from Kim's arsenal in the past.

With that in mind, a thought occurred to him. "_What if_…" his tore away his gaze from the phone to the door, "_Fuck me_…"

* * *

Ruffling through a waste bin wasn't exactly the highlight of his night, but it was better than being found drunk off his ass by the street corner. Damn did he have an earful ready for Greg! A little too enthusiastically did he dial the number that the scientist had provided for him, and wouldn't you know it, there was finally that satisfying ringing.

"_Hello_?"

"You got some nerve you ass! Just what the hell do you want!?" Ron snapped.

"_Ronald_! _Glad to finally hear from you_. _How are you doing_?" Greg asked, as if he was just talking to an old friend.

"Wha-? I just want you to leave me the fuck alone! What more could you possibly want with me!?" Ron was done being polite, it was about time that he put his foot down.

A moment of silence before came a response. "_So how do you like the gift I left for you_?"

"**JUST LEAVE ME ALONE**!" Ron bellowed, not caring if anyone next door heard him.

"_Turn on the TV_," Greg requested, seemingly uncaring about Ron's outburst.

"What!? No, I am NOT going to do any of your shit! We're done-"

"_Just turn it on and see…_"

Ron scoffed and went for his remote to turn on the television by the corner of his room. "Okay, it's on!"

"_Go to the late channel_ news."

Ron rolled his eyes as he flipped through a few channels before stopping by the news channel. "Okay so what exactly…is…it…you…" the blonde went semi-catatonic as he caught sight of the latest breaking news.

_'WOMAN ATTACKED, CONDITION CRITICAL!' _was the headline that continuously ran through at the bottom of the screen at an even pace, causing Ron to refocus closely at the victim that was being towed inside an ambulance.

"Norma…" Ron breathed, his heart falling.

"_Yes_…_it was a real shocker to me too_," Greg remarked.

Ron gritted his teeth. "What did you do you son of a bitch?"

"_I didn't do anything_, _but it's the fact that neither of us acted is why Norma is fighting for her life right now_."

"And you expect me to just believe you?"

"_No, but I assure you that I would never stoop so low as to force you through hurting people Ron_, _especially when Norma didn't even do anything to deserve such a fate._"

Ron went deathly silent as he watched the proceedings of the broadcast. The temptation to chuck all of the things that Greg gave him into a dumpster and contact the police on him was hanging precariously by his head, but on the other hand, who would believe that the man practically resided in another dimension?

"I'm gonna ask you one more time, what is it that you want?" the tone Ron had a moment ago; hot with rage, had lowered to an ominous calm.

"_You do know that SMART BRAIN is linked to the murders and kidnappings right? They've been doing this for quite some time now for the sole purpose of making more Orphnochs._"

"Yeah…I figured. Let me guess, you need my help to take them down."

"_That's the basic idea, yes._"

Ron closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Is there any way for me to decline?"

"_Okay then, let's just say that you refuse and I try to look for another sorry schmuck that would help me in my crusade to topple a multi-billion dollar enterprise comprised of ruthless killing machines that would systematically tear anyone in their way apart until there's barely anything recognizable. I can choose anyone Ron, but I chose _you_ for a reason, because frankly, SMART BRAIN has already spent a considerable investment on you and it would be such a shame for them to be disappointed that their acts of mass murder didn't produce any results._"

Ron bit his lip and moistened it. "Why…should I help you?"

"_Because dark times are coming Ron…and a lot more people _**are**_ going to die…so again I ask this of you - _**will**_ you help me_?"

Ron's chest tightened as he thought about his answer, an answer that could break what little semblance of peace that he had been hoping for during all those few years stewing in his own misery. Would he plunge straight into the unknown? If so, how would he be able to get out? What would be awaiting him on an uncertain path?

He was going in blind. "I'll…think about it…I'll call you tomorrow, same time. Deal?"

"_Deal, oh and uh just so you know, I resigned on the day that you and I first went into my garage, and as such, you won't be seeing me anytime soon at work. We'll talk tomorrow Ronald. Good night._"

Ron didn't return the sentiment as he flopped down on the sofa in front of the telly, raking his fingers though his hair.

"Norma…I'm sorry…"

* * *

**Whoa, sorry it took me this long to update people. Going through some nasty depression and I really need to catch some downtime after every update. I'm a human being, not a machine. So enjoy and hope I haven't disappointed anyone. Peace out!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: I have returned after much strife and feel the need to inform you my readers that a rewrite of chapters is currently afoot and with it, the addition of more chapters in the near future. Many of these rewrites are just minor grammar edits that you all might find uncomfortable. So I have made it a point to rectify that issue. Nothing too noticeable, but certainly less of a hassle as you skim through chapters. So without further adieu, on with the show.**

* * *

Ron sighed to himself at how draining his day was. Not only did he have to endure the mind numbing inanity of having to attend to customers who seemed to have never ventured into a mall before, he also had to endure the circling of gossip regarding Norma's unfortunate brush with death.

For all of his indifference to almost everyone in the SmartyMart workforce, if there was ever one exception to his contempt besides Greg – who wasn't exactly faring well with him at the moment - it would be Norma. Sure she sometimes asked him to take up some of her hours, but unlike everyone else who would do it to get off early or screw with him she had a legitimate excuse, like picking up her kids from school or doing groceries. He had nothing but respect for the woman since he understood that she had her own busy life cut out for her.

As such, last night's news report didn't exactly give him anything to celebrate about. He could almost hear her family's grief as they stood by her hospital bed, praying for her recovery. His eyes stung as the tears threatened to trickle out, but he sure as hell didn't want to give the other parasites another excuse to make his days even more unbearable.

Now, as he was sitting on his bed back at his apartment, the guilt fell down on him like a ton of bricks. He didn't cry, nor could he let himself anymore. He's had enough years of crying himself to sleep from the episodes and the _other_ issue that the crash had left him with.

But now that he knew that SMART BRAIN planned it all along. "They're going to pay…for everything!"

Thus, he had been overcome with an unbearable urge to avenge the great injustice that had befallen him and all of those that were with him during that flight. He owed them all that much - if only as an apology for how unsavory his company had been to them.

Men, women and children – their voices acting as ghosts to haunt him during those early years of his rehabilitation, voices that had all but quelled after his condition had calmed. But with his renewed outrage at the monsters that ruined his life - their lives - came the return of those same ghosts now screaming for retribution.

Retribution that Ron was all too eager to serve. It was well into the night, and a full moon was on the horizon. Ron gave the bright orb a sidelong glance from his window and smirked at the irony, while playing with the phone gingerly in his hand. No, it wasn't his cellphone - it was the odd flip phone that Greg had left for him. He was sorely tempted earlier that day to get in touch with Wade again after such a long time to examine the "equipment" that the old man had left for him.

Much to his disappointment and surprise, the big guy wasn't able to make it to Kim's party, but the two of them didn't blame it on him for his lack of attendance. Especially after Felix explained that the young prodigy was working extensively on the project that he had mentioned to Ron earlier that night, as the sheer complexity of their task demanded near constant involvement - and they were on a deadline.

Once that factor came to mind, Ron threw the idea aside, not wanting to impose his own problems onto his friend. God, if only matters like this weren't so complicated, but no, all of this Orphnoch business and having to deal with SMART BRAIN was starting to look like a tea party compared to the turmoil raging inside him. The only thing that Ron wanted Greg to do was deliver on his promises and help him, because if he found that such an agreement was not to be honored on both of their behalves, then the blonde had a good mind to do something that he'd most likely regret.

And as that last thought trailed off, the phone in his hand gave out a resounding noise that seemed to reverberate across the room and back. Hesitant, he let the small device continue on, not wanting to spoil his nightly brooding. But, a deal was a deal.

It made a distinct beep as he flipped it open – then again – even pressing the buttons made a distinct beeping noise. He was definitely going to ask Greg about that. "Hello, Greg?"

"_I take it you've made a decision_?" Greg's tone was calm, but there was a hint of anxiety behind it. Ron didn't pay it much heed as he continued.

"If I join you - and I'm not saying that I will - will it be dangerous?" Of course it was going to be dangerous, but the blonde wanted to know how Greg was going to respond to such a question. False reassurance can come a long way after all. If anything, it would only give him that golden excuse to refuse.

"_What do _you_ think_?" Greg sighed as Ron could feel the man rubbing his eyes. The blonde's one chance at escape had vanished, just like that.

Ron scrunched up his face in concern. "You okay?"

"_Yeah…have you decided_?" Greg's voice had gone raspy, which only told Ron that the man must have been tired.

Ron chewed his lip. Would this be it? Would this be the life changing decision that will make or break it for him? What about Kim? How would she react? Ron didn't even bother to tell her about all of this, even when he had every chance in the world to during their lunch date. But now he regretted it like all of his other mistakes.

He had come to the conclusion long ago that his life was nothing but mistakes. And now he was at a crossroads. Would this be another to add into the long line? How much more was he going to keep piling up before going past the brink?

How on earth would he be able to look Kim in the eye again, if this all went wrong?

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"Yes. I'm in."

A long pause followed. Everything went silent, and Ron could feel his heartbeat as it reverberated inside his chest. A trickle of sweat descended down his forehead despite the drop in temperature, and he could almost feel Greg breathing down his ear.

"_Take the belt and put it on_."

Ron furrowed his brows in question, but decided to follow what the man had asked of him. The still open briefcase had laid bare all of its contents as if they were calling out to him. Gingerly, he took the belt out and snapped it around his waist.

"_Place the camera and flashlight into their holsters._" Greg coughed several times on the other end, but told the younger man to ignore it.

A few days ago, he would have questioned the eccentricity of all this and assumed the old scientist to be a Grade-A loon, but now, the subsequent events and revelations that had followed only taught him to take it all in stride. After all, in regard to what was happening with the world today, this was all too sane by comparison.

After he was done with that, Greg gave him one last instruction and informed that they would be seeing each other shortly. "_After I end this call…dial 555. Close the phone and place it into the empty slot by the buckle…all will be revealed by then Ron._"

And with that, Greg finished the call, leaving a slightly confused Ron Stoppable in his lonesome.

With a huff, Ron reasoned that he could have been doing a lot worse than this form of child's play. He bit his lip in reluctance, but came to the rather uneasy conclusion that the more time he wasted – the more he'd leave room for regret to fester.

This was it. His thumb alone felt heavy as he pressed the single red digit at the center, as if the button was beckoning for him.

_**5 - 5 - 5**_

_**Enter**_

…

_**Standing By**_

Ron reeled back in shock - did the phone just talk? - but his curiosity was muffled out as the device now reverberated with an odd buzzing noise.

He was still standing by that crossroad. He had every opportunity to back out and leave this entirely behind. His revenge, the mission and the inevitable struggles and trials ahead – would he be able to bear such a burden? The decision was entirely his to make now. The only real question left was, which path of no return would he take?

The answer came with Ron snapping the phone shut. The atmosphere was now calming down. This was too much of a risk for him. No way was he going to waste his life on some windmill crusade.

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That was exactly what he would have wanted, but sadly – it wasn't the answer that he needed.

With renewed determination, Ron placed the phone into the slot and snapped it into a horizontal position to fit snugly into the buckle.

_**COMPLETE**_


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: Here is another chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

A bright crimson light overtook the entirety of Ron's room and blinded him. Everything seemed to happen in an instant as the blonde felt his entire body being engulfed in an intense warmth that he couldn't well describe.

A moment after the light dissipated, Ron slowly opened his eyes to complete darkness. Puzzled and a bit frightened, his tension was replaced by surprise as holographic figures; words and numbers too fast for him to read or even recognize, simultaneously emerged before his very eyes, followed only shortly by his room coming into view.

Slightly disoriented from the flash, he wet his lips as he raised his hands up to his line of sight to examine them. His breath got caught in his throat as he found that his bare skin was now encased in black gloves with metal fingertips. Going from there, he hung his head to glimpse down at his own body and was slightly taken aback by what appeared to be armor. He ran his hands through the smooth spandex and the hard metal, curious as to how and where did the armor come to be on his person.

In his befuddlement at this - admittedly cool - turn of events, came the sudden reminiscence of Kim's time wearing her infamous power suit during the _Diablo_ incident.

Whatever happened to that suit anyway?

He inwardly face palmed at the added recollection of having used it to cheat in a football try-out for the Middleton Mad Dogs, which; unsurprisingly, resulted in him getting banned from all of the school sports clubs after Kim forc-_encouraged_ him to come clean.

The blonde pressed his lips tightly at how awkward it felt to remember that little embarrassment, which he had; admittedly, brought upon himself.

His attention quickly shifted back to the present as he walked up to a full body mirror and surveyed himself from head to toe. The armor was black with a metallic chest plate, two sets of silver bands on the forearms and lower legs, metallic shoulder and knee guards, and finally, metatarsal boots. His eyes then darted up to his helmet.

The blonde brought his hands up to feel his entire head encased in what appeared to be a hard material of some sort. It was black, save for the large, yellow lenses that almost overtook the face but ended by a metallic mouth guard with fanglike indentions. The lenses would have made a perfect circle if not for a metal strip in the middle with a green lens at the center.

At the very top of the helmet that extended from the upper middle part of the lenses were two red "antennas" that were oddly shaped like dorsal fins. But the most striking out of all of those oddities, were the crimson lines that ran all the throughout the suit.

This was all so surreal. Was he dreaming, did he finally do an overdose and transported his disembodied consciousness into some trippy astral plane?

Or did he just forget to take his meds again?

"_How do you like the new duds_?" Went a distorted voice that echoed through Ron's ears.

Startled, he searched around frantically for the source and wondered if the neighbors had heard the entire ruckus or if this was indeed evidence of his neglect in taking his prescriptions. The source shortly made itself known as a screen popped up in Ron's line of vision. It was Greg.

"Hey there ace, you comfy?" Greg sounded a lot more easy-going than he had been while giving out instructions earlier, but even the blonde could notice that the older man appeared a bit frazzled.

Ron slowly outstretched his right arm to see if the hologram was in front of him, before rolling his eyes at another bout of ineptitude and fully realizing that the helmet was also an interface. Nonplussed, he wet his lips before mustering up the first words that came to mind.

"Um…hi?"

Greg grinned, but it wasn't in a taunting manner. "Yeah, it can get pretty awkward for the first time I know, but you'll get used to it. I actually designed it for maximum comfort and maneuverability. Almost feels like nothing if you ask me," he trailed off with a wink.

This caused the hairs at the back of Ron's neck to stand. "So what exactly is all this?" He asked slowly, swallowing a lump in his throat.

The scientist's expression hardened in an instant; looking more like a man with the knowledge and experience that was befitting of his profession. "That is the Faiz Armor Ron. My greatest creation."

Ron raised an eyebrow, "So, this is what you were talking about old man?" Even though he still had his doubts, it was fairly unlike of the blonde to dismiss the restrained glee that was building in him; the thing did look pretty damn cool after all. His lips formed the barest hint of a smirk that was almost childlike. Fortunately, Greg didn't seem to notice.

"At first, it was just a – a little pet project that I had proposed to the Lucky Cover while I was still under their employ to someday be put into mass production for," Greg chewed his lips, "practical purposes.

"We had a contract from the Pentagon to develop these suits with the sole intent of providing our client with the most advanced form of weaponry that we could cook up, and boy howdy did we deliver."

Ron had long taken a seat at his bed after Greg started, but not before he closed the blinds. He still had a lot of questions, but now felt more like a good time as any other to have them answered. "The suit you're wearing right now Ron was the very first prototype which I had only much later modified and completed.

"After that, we moved on to creating a more streamlined version that we dubbed the 'Riotrooper'. The intent being; or more precisely the cover for it, was that they would be deployed by SMART BRAIN to serve the public trust. You know, assisting in stopping crime and all that jazz; kind of like an elite SWAT Team to put it simply.

"The suits are marked to be released this year, so that's another problem we have to watch out for. Last but not least, there's only one little criterion that has to be met for someone to even wear them.

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"They have to be Orphnochs."

Greg elaborated that the armors were going to play an integral part in SMART BRAIN's plans, with the actual purpose being to serve as their enforcers aside from the already obvious advantage of their abilities.

In addition to many of their other projects, the belts could only be used exclusively by Orphnochs due to a bio lock, thus deterring any normal humans from the possibility of retaliating against the company with their own arsenal. If by any chance that the humans actually would manage to get their hands on such weapons, the bio lock would either electrocute them to death and/or explode.

Ron swallowed another lump in his throat. Confused, the blonde questioned why the need for the suits if SMART BRAIN and its forces were already dangerous enough on their own.

"Everything has its limits Ron, even Orphnochs. I designed the suits as an added counter-measure in case we ever needed a way to dispose of…rogue elements within the organization easily and with little collateral as possible. In the right hands, even a single Riotrooper can take on a small army."

Ron whistled; the suits were that tough?

"Aside from the weapons, the suits greatly enhance the wearer's natural abilities to their maximum potential as physically as possible without the detriment of over-stressing their bodies; enhanced strength, speed, reflexes and coordination. The suit itself is made from a material called '**Sol**' that was created by Avery's sister; Susan Westlake, who is also a part of the original Lucky Clover.

"Raw material alone can be synthesized into almost anything. A single, thin sheet of fiber made from Sol is durable enough to withstand up to 2.1 TJ worth of TNT. All combat simulations with the first models were conducted in a room reinforced with walls of titanium 10 ft. thick and even then they managed to plow through like tin foil..." Greg trailed off.

Ron furrowed his brows in awkward confusion. "Are you sure you're okay Greg?"

Greg ran a hand through his mouth as he pressed his lips together. "I'm fine Ronald. Just feeling a bit edgy is all…So, how about we get you and that baby out for a test drive of your own?"

Ron's eyes bulged. "Test drive, you mean now? I'm not sure if..."

"Relax, it's just a simple field test. I'm sure you'll do great." Ron could have sworn that Greg was giving him the signature Smarty Mart smile that the company prided itself with – how he hated that smile

Within the next moment, the same bluish glow that had transported the two men a few days earlier had returned, and Ron couldn't be any more prepared than he was back then. Coming to, the blonde found himself standing in an empty street. Frantic, Ron spun to survey his surroundings.

It was dark, save for a nearby street lamp that illuminated the sidewalk. Instinctively, Ron walked up to the shone spot. Certain parts of the street corners that he was familiar with told him that he was in downtown Middleton

Nonplussed, he just stood there as the cold night air blew against him. The atmosphere was dank and eerily melancholic, with the dulled noises of an urban wasteland. Clutters of trash were scattered here and there by the breeze, a few barking strays, and finally that nagging feeling like you were being watched.

Curiously, being under a full bodied suit that was specifically designed for combat would have been more than a little bit comforting. But for some reason, Ron felt strangely naked. He wasn't certain if it was just the recent events that had transpired or perhaps his anxiety acting up again, but a chill traveled down his spine as he took it all in.

Here he was, the moment that he should have been anticipating. His first real mission in over four years, and Kim wasn't here to watch his back - nor the other way around as it had always been.

Ron hung his head in grim nostalgia, but was shortly broken out of it by the re-emergence of Greg's mug.

"You ready?" Greg asked, his expression plastered with slight worry.

Ron sighed deeply and closed his eyes for a moment, not even caring if there was someone just waiting around the corner to mug him. He presumed that the sight of his arsenal would be more than enough to keep them off his back. Greg swallowed before he continued, "Do you see a building from across the street in front of you?"

Ron opened his eyes and peered through the darkness to indeed find an old building. The rolling steel door was rusted, indicating that it had either been abandoned or no one bothered with renovations. The bricked foundation looked worn enough and the painted sign had long since faded.

The blonde could only make out a few words; '**TA - - B - NA**'. Ron tilted his head in wonder. "What about it?"

Greg smiled, only this time it was more wistful, with his eyes twinkling like that of an uncle who was about to give his nephew a present. "Open the door. Don't worry it's safe, there's something inside for you that I'm _pre_tty sure that you're going to like." His smile grew as Ron crossed the empty street up to the building.

The blonde tentatively bent down and grabbed hold of the bottom. Carefully, he eased the rusted door off its hinges and was met by the sight of crates stacked on top of one another, with a few tables lined against the walls or overturned on the floor. An assortment of old tools and machinery could be made out spread all over the place.

The interior was wider as opposed to how it looked outside, but it was more than dim enough to go in blind, notwithstanding the moonlight that was all but obscured by a few tall buildings or the streetlamp outside. Of course, such a disadvantage wasn't in any way at all a problem for an Orphnoch like Ron.

Ron cocked an eyebrow at the deserted venue. "Is this place some kind of repair shop?"

"It was. Belonged to an old friend of mine. His name is Toby Tachibana, he went out of business after SMART BRAIN bought him out. Couldn't find good prospects here anymore so he moved back to Japan. Unfortunately, he went off the radar about a year ago..." Greg's somber tone as he trailed off wasn't lost to the blonde.

"You think they got him?"

Greg rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I'm not sure, but as far as I know he knew nothing about Orphnochs so..."

Ron entered and slowly rolled the door down. "If you're thinking what I think you're thinking then don't. We need to stay positive." It wasn't lost to the blonde that he was saying that more to himself than Greg.

The older man shrugged. "I know…go further inside."

Ron walked gingerly across the floor of debris, all the while on the watch for any hostiles; his enhanced senses were all the more vigilant.

"There's a large crate that's under two smaller ones with the fragile logo. Do you see it?"

Ron focused his eyes and turned his head sideways to cover more the shop. After a few mistakes, the blonde's gaze fell on a wide crate that fit the initial description. As he went near it, Greg continued, "Open it. What you'll find inside will be integral to your mission."

Doing as instructed, Ron grabbed the crate by the seams with his bare hands and with the enhanced strength, pulled it away seamlessly. What came next made Ron's jaw drop.

"A…A MOTORCYCLE!"

Ron was almost tempted to pinch himself as he gawked at the sight before him. A sleek, single cylinder motorbike that had to have been heavily customized; the chassis was silver in color, with red streaks painted on certain sections, along with a 4-speed transmission engine. The SMART BRAIN logo was stamped by the side of the gas tank, and the designation code 'SB-555V' by the front. The design itself closely resembled off-road sports bikes.

Stunned into silence, Greg allowed the younger man a moment to marvel and admire the token that had figuratively fallen onto his lap. But time was running out and there was still much to do. "So how do you like it? It's yours by the way."

The blonde didn't respond, and just continued to stand in dumbfounded silence. This cued Greg to continue. "So now that that little tidbit has been established, let's move on to the mission shall we? My scanners have just caught a disturb-" Greg was cut off by a loud thud.

Ron fainted.

* * *

"Ron...Ronald! RONALD WAKE UP!" Greg hollered through the interface, causing the blonde to bolt upright. Feeling a little embarrassed, Ron pulled himself up to his feet and brushed off his shoulders.

"Sorry...I'm really sorry Greg." Ron held his hands up in contemplation to emphasize his apology, not that the older man could see it.

Greg sighed, but decided to let it slide. "As I was saying, my scanners have picked up some suspicious behavior over by the industrial district. I've been getting some readings there for months and apparently, there were two people that have been abducted near that area just recently. The local police haven't bothered checking it out since they have their hands full in the more populated parts of the city. But I think now they're about to get a helping hand, and that honor goes to you my boy." Greg pointed at him.

"Okay..." Ron mused as he continued to check the bike. It looked brand new in stark contrast to its container. "Um...Greg, is this...really mine?"

"Yes...is there a problem?" Greg asked tentatively, although his tone managed to disguise his waning patience.

"No! No...I mean - wow! This is...this is intense!" Ron let out a toothy grin as he trailed off breathlessly, causing Greg's demeanor to soften; he might as well let this bit of indulgence be, since many more trials waited ahead.

"It's yours Ron. I had it built to be a personal mode of transport for the wielder of the Faiz Gear, and since said gear is now under your possession, that automatically gives you ownership of Auto Vajin."

"Auto...Vajin?" The name resonated within Ron and for some reason it felt comforting. "Thank you!" Ron beamed in almost childlike gratitude. Greg's expression was unreadable, but a tinge of self-doubt reared itself into his mind.

"_Should I_...?" Greg blinked before burying the thought. There was no turning back now. There were still many wrongs to right, and he'd be damned if he'd let more innocent people pay the price for mistakes not even their own.

Ron brought the bike out into the open as he was readying to leave for his first mission. Faint beams of moonlight managed to glint off the silvery finish as Ron mounted it, ready to race towards wherever Greg needed him to be.

"Does this this thing have any gas?" Ron asked as he started the ignition, which answered his question. And with that, he was off.

Following the GPS coordinates that Greg provided him, Ron rode along the empty streets. Despite the roar of the engine and the speeds that he was going, the blonde felt that eerie dread come upon him once again. Above him was the full moon, looking down upon the earth that had long since numbed itself to its light, piercing through the foundations built up by man in his bid for warmth, security and comfort from the wilderness. But ignorance knew no bounds, and all he did was replace one wilderness with another - more dangerous, more mysterious and unforgiving.

It was a folly that man had grown to live with, and will continue to endure so long as life went on. Following a series of shortcuts and avoiding as many cruisers as he could, Ron finally arrived in his destination. It was an old construction site. City officials had long since abandoned it for other more pressing projects, and here, the site was patiently waiting for workers to once again walk its grounds. Ron dismounted off his bike and entered through the unhinged part of the fence.

Once he was inside, he carefully regarded his surroundings, a task made easier with the built-in scanners searching for any distinct forms of life; human or otherwise.

Save for a few rodents and roaches, the scanners didn't pick up anything out of the ordinary. "You sure this is the place Greg?"

"Positive, keep your guard up. I just hacked into police records and found that the missing people were two teenagers; Larson Mankiller and Eli Henderson. Cross referencing their records...got it. Both kids were in the Middleton High soccer team - your alma mater?" Greg cocked an eyebrow in curiosity.

Ron simply gave out what could only be described as a faint scoff. "Doesn't mean a thing to me. Finding out what happened to these kids is what's important right now. Finding them at all will be better." He walked briskly through the dusty terrain until stopping by a set of concrete drainage pipes. Slumping against them to get a moment of rest, he took out his flashlight and began to scan it. Instantly, the device's schematics and instructions popped up.

Reading through them, he found that the 'flashlight'; specifically dubbed as the 'Faiz Pointer', also served as a stun gun if the mission memory (which was the chip that was stored in the phone) was inserted into its empty slot, thus imbuing it with the same 'Photon Energy' that served as the suit's power source. He skimmed through all of the other illustrations of how to use the Pointer but before he could finish, he heard something.

Alerted, Ron hunched down as he heard another sound, only much louder. As quietly as he could, he slowly walked to the edge of the pipe and sat on the ground with his back to the concrete. Cautiously, he scrunched his eyes as he peeked behind him. His gaze darted left and right, the night doing nothing to obscure him as he caught sight of something moving deep within an unfinished building.

He quickly leaned his head back and took a deep breath; this was it. This would be the moment of truth for him. Ron rose from hiding place with baited breath, and crept towards the building with the Faiz Pointer in hand. His grip tightened on the handle, but this did little to keep the blonde's hand from shaking; more out of fear than from the cold. Fear after all, was one of the most primal of survival instincts.

He whirled with every step, ever more vigilant for anything that might be lurking around the area. Ironically, he started to feel like he was an animal - a gazelle unwittingly grazing while being eyed by a hungry lion.

Oh, how much he wanted to be somewhere else right now. The budding fear was starting to pound his head with second thoughts, this was a bad idea. He needed to get out of here! He needed to ge-

As he whirled again and took a few steps backwards, his train of thought was cut short as he bumped into something. More than a little mindful of such a cliche, he slowly turned and his gaze fell on a grey chest plate with an intricate set of diamond-like patterns that went down in an inverted triangle. He swallowed a large lump in his throat as he slowly directed his eyes up and came face-to-face with a hideous grey visage with no mouth, two eyes literally bulging out of its sockets, and topped by two small horns protruding out of its head. In a panic, Ron jumped back and got into a defensive stance, brandishing the Pointer forward.

The creature's eyes seemed to twinkle in the darkness as it tilted its head, considering the newcomer. "Who - or rather - _what_ are you supposed to be?"

Its voice sounded male, but heavily distorted in a gurgling manner. The monstrous being took one slow step forward with a heavy thump in an attempt at intimidation. The creature let out a series of gurgling noises as he took another step, as if chuckling in amusement.

"Playing superhero little man, or did you get lost on the way to a convention?"

Ron said nothing as he stepped back as opposed to the other, all the while brandishing the instrument in his hand in a futile attempt to ward off the advancing Orphnoch.

Only at that moment did Greg reappear on the screen. "What are you doing Ron? Defend yourself! And if possible restrain him for questioning."

"Easier said than done old man," Ron hissed, not wanting to sound like he was talking to himself. The creature didn't seem to notice as he lunged forward to tackle Ron to the ground, causing the latter to dodge to the side in a roll.

Not to be outplayed, the Orphnoch easily shifted his step and directed his weight towards Ron to knock him over. The blonde fell to the ground and rolled onto his back, losing his grip on the Pointer in the process. Frazzled, but not unconscious, he scrambled to get up but was quickly caught under the creature's foot with a firm stomp, getting the wind knocked out of him.

"Well this is embarrassing. All decked out and about to get wasted." The Orphnoch let out a sigh in mock boredom. "Couldn't you have provided more of a challenge?" Ron panted heavily as he struggled to get the creature off, but the latter wasn't in any hurry to release its prey. Annoyed, the blonde grabbed hold of the ankle pinning him down with both hands and squeezed with as much force as the suit could allow him.

A crushing noise could be heard, followed by a loud yelp of pain before the creature fell back and rolled a short distance away to clutch the sore limb in anger.

Examining his ankle, the downed Orphnoch was shocked to see several small cracks and some blood trickling out. "How did you do that!? My entire body is impenetrable!" He seethed with rage and inhaled sharply because of the pain, as if the feeling itself was foreign to him.

Ron pulled himself up to kneel forward with one hand on his thigh for support. With a huff, he flicked his other wrist before rising up to his feet. Now seeing his chance, he made a run for his opponent and jumped into the air. In that split second moment, one of the suits functions was triggered. The soles of his feet started to glow a bright crimson red as he dived back down to knock the creature out with a kick.

A burst of photon energy surged as he hit his adversary square in the head, launching the creature straight across the hallway before crashing against the impending wall, with the impact leaving a noticeable crater. The Orphnoch fell into a heap and cried out in pain as he writhed uncontrollably from the residual energy coursing throughout his body.

Amazingly, he was still conscious enough to mutter in a hoarse whisper, as opposed to the gurgling earlier. "D-Damn you...! Whoever you are...you just made a big mista-" his words were cut short as he succumbed to the damage he sustained. Blue flames burst out of his body as he slowly crumbled to dust.

Ron on the other hand; out of breath and shaken from the experience, watched in belated horror at what he had just done.

Was it true, did he just make another mistake?


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: The re-writes are done. This is the latest chapter. Read and enjoy!**

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On his knees, Ron looked on at the still burning vestiges of his fallen foe, his eyes blank and mouth agape under the helmet. Greg's voice called out his name before he revealed his face through the interface. At first the scientist was ready to chew out the younger blonde for his blatant recklessness, but thought better of it as he caught the latter's expression.

Greg sighed and muttered Ron's name again. The blonde seemed to have awakened from a deep trance as he stuttered for a moment to get his bearings; he swallowed a hard lump in his throat as he slowly rose to his feet.

Too lost in his thoughts to fully grasp the knot building in his stomach, his breathing had become shallow; with his eyes darting back and forth between the dust that was a moment ago his would be assailant and the Faiz Pointer lying next to a nearby beam.

As if in a daze, he took a few shuffling steps toward his weapon, his focus being only on the object and it alone at the expense of everything else at that single, fragile moment. Before he even noticed, he came to a halt by the Pointer, lying stationary on the ground; immobile, silent and dead.

Only then did cruel realization struck. His eyes widened and became affixed at the charred remains in front of him, the blue flames dancing around as they gradually weakened into small embers. His trance broken, he became more aware of himself and his surroundings; hands trembling, stomach churning, and beads of sweat trickling down his brow. He tightened his lips as he felt the bile within him yearning for release.

Sheepishly, his hands reached up to his helmet to remove it, but found much to his urgent annoyance that it was latched on snugly. Growing frantic, his fingers searched for a switch or clip of some sort that could dislodge it, his voice trembling all the while. He didn't even bother to ask Greg, who just silently stared on with an unreadable expression. It took a few minutes before he found a small button by the nape of the ear and pressed it; a resounding click could be heard as the mouth guard detached from the main and fell to the ground.

In a heartbeat, Ron took the helmet off and threw it away, not even caring at all on where it landed. He fell to his knees once again as he stared ahead longingly, catching a whiff that was uncannily similar to sulfur as the breeze carried away what was left of the Orphnoch.

That was more than what the blonde could endure before the bile was expelled from his system. His sight blurred as the tears welled up in his eyes, but whether it was from the vomiting or the unscrupulous deed that he had just perpetrated, it was a matter that; at least at the moment, escaped him.

After gagging a few more times, he was certain that he had emptied the contents of his stomach onto the crumbling corpse; as if he couldn't desecrate it enough. He blinked away the moisture from his orbs as he tried to regain his breathing, struggling to calm his nerves.

In the second that he regained his clear focus and saw up close the fruit of his labor, his hands shot up to his face to shield himself from the sight. His teeth ground against each other as he just sat there, trying to his best to keep himself from breaking down then and there.

Did he do the right thing? It was a life or death situation, so of course he would react reflexively; instinctively even, in defense of his own life. But the question that was once again echoing through his mind, throughout his very soul was -

Was it another mistake?

Back in the old days, Team Possible's main objectives were as clear as the light of day; capture the villain and let the courts decide the appropriate sentence - never once treading past the line of doling out absolute vigilante justice, lest they surrender what separated them from the very monsters that they had sworn to bring down.

They made it a policy not just because they were teenagers at the time, but because of all the moral implications that came with such a choice; they were heroes first and foremost. Saving the day, defending the oppressed, and in the process, setting an example to follow by doing it within the system.

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Ron had long since tasted the bitterness of reality, and instead of that kiddie fantasy that he and Kim had always clung to, the evidence to condemn such a farcical belief was right there before him. Still, the nagging of his own conscience was in no hurry to die down, and by running through the course of the fight again, there were indeed many glaring opportunities for him to have resolved it without the shedding of blood.

The main point - as Ron was fully aware of - was that his adversary was down; incapacitated by the injury that the blonde had given him in an act of desperation, the creature's threat level had to have been diminished enough to either be bound or even knocked unconscious.

But given how his own injuries usually healed within seconds, there was very little room for assurance that he could have done anything in the next moment or so that would have secured the beast in a position fit for interrogation; at least, not before the latter had any say in it.

His head still in his hands, Ron tried to shake all of the chaotic thoughts away, but to no avail. He sniveled as he tried to stand back up to his feet, stumbling a bit while he struggled to hold back the tears.

For the next few minutes after clearing his head a little, he absently rose to his feet and trudged through the dirt to find his scattered things. Any coherent, conscious thought that he had buried, returned to him when he was walking up to his bike.

It was only then did Greg continue; a lot more cautiously, in scrutinizing Ron. "What happened back there?" His voice was calculatingly leveled to an eerie, yet manageable calm. "Care to share it with me?"

Ron did not respond - not at all as his stomach was still turning - so entertaining conversation was going to have to wait, instead, he simply spared the scientist a glance before shifting his attention back to starting up his bike. He was caught off guard when the blue light engulfed him for the second time that night, before being greeted by Greg standing a few inches away from him; hands in pockets and face somber.

**Later…**

Ron was sitting catatonic by one of the couches; hunched over and staring at the ground, while Greg was in the kitchen preparing some hot chocolate – _Puccini's Madame Butterfly _could be heard playing in the background.

Greg's favorite.

The two gentlemen shortly found themselves sipping their drinks generously as the music kept on playing. It was just like the first time that they were in his laboratory, but the only difference was that Ron was now under the older man's employ; albeit, reluctantly.

The hot chocolate was calming given the overall atmosphere, its sweetness ticklish to the tongue, as opposed to the warmth; like a sharp knife bloodlessly cutting its way through. Oddly enough, it was probably the most normal thing that could have happened tonight; the hot beverage helping ease the tension in their muscles, clearing their minds…

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Numbing their pain.

It was all the both of them could do without giving in to the tempting embrace of madness. With his cup empty, Ron leveled his gaze up to Greg after setting it down upon the coffee table. His eyes found the latter's shoulder, and then slowly traveled up to the mouth, before landing on the older man's own orbs; he never really noticed it before, but Greg's eyes were black.

The same blackness found itself staring back; stern and uncompromising, but also soft and…apologetic?

No.

Ron wasn't imagining it. Greg was laying it all out to him. The silent murmur of an apology could be read on the older man's expression, and strangely enough, it was all that the blonde could suffice himself with to keep from falling into the abyss.


	15. Chapter 15

**2 weeks later…**

"This is Bart Lancaster of Good Morning Middleton reporting live. Police are still baffled over the recent incidents involving the Grey Dust killings where eye witness accounts are describing a lone vigilante patrolling the streets of our fair town and safeguarding our citizens, and now, rumors are spreading like wild fire, along with questions on the who, what, where, when and how. But hold on to your hats folks, because me and my team have been on a steady trail on this mysterious individual, and we are certain that in due time, we'll be able to get a clear picture on who he, or even she, really is."

Bart Lancaster was a middle-aged man with red greying hair, a chubby build and wearing a black suit with a pinstriped blue tie.

"Here with me now is the woman who was this close to becoming a victim to the infamous serial murders - a Miss Margaret Chen."

Next to Bart was a young Chinese-American woman of average height, shoulder-length black hair, fair skin and slim build, wearing a blue denim jacket over a pink top and blue jeans.

"Uh, Miss Chen, would you describe to us the night of when you were attacked, did you get a good look at the perpetrator?"

Chen pursed her lips as she made an aside glance. "Well…it was dark, and it all happened too fast for me to get a good look of what was what and who was who…it was crazy. I was so scared; the guy had to have been at least 7-8 feet tall. Real bulky too, like he was wearing some kind of mask and thick armor, with broad shoulders and everything. The weird thing was…was that he was - kind of growling like an animal...it's crazy I know but he was coming right at me with some kind of weapon and ready to hurt me and suddenly, I heard a motorcycle drive by."

Lancaster cocked his brows. "A motorcycle?"

Chen nodded. "Yeah, and the guy in front of me stopped and turned around, we were in a spot in the park that he dragged me to so nobody would see us and it could have been over for me, but this other guy came along and he was…well…" Chen chewed her lip in hesitation.

"Don't be intimidated Miss Chen, we won't hold anything against you." Lancaster reassured.

Chen took a moment to catch her breath and continued. "The new guy was…glowing."

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Bart cocked an eyebrow matter-of-factly at the other woman as he moistened his lips. "Glowing?"

Chen raked her hair with her fingers. "Look, I know it sounds odd, but the guy was glowing, like, a deep crimson red. Like…like the kind you see in Tron, you know? Yeah, that's it! He had lines all over his body and he was walking up to us slowly - "

Bart cut her off. "You're saying that you were saved by a glowing…man?" He was starting to wish his eyebrow could go higher.

Chen sighed. "I think it was a man, he even sounded like it. He told me to get out of there. As you might have imagined, I was more than happy to do that, but not before my attacker lunged at me. I thought I was a goner, but – it all went so fast - the new guy just tackled him to the side and punched him a few times before I took off."

As Bart listened intently to Chen's story, he was fighting with himself on whether he should be asking for a raise or an early retirement. Then again, he had managed interviews from other eye witnesses who have had similar brushes of essentially similar circumstances.

"**The man in crimson**,** with bright**, **piercing yellow eyes and whose arrival was always heralded by the roar of a motorcycle's engine**." It was the kind of story that felt more like a tabloid, or a comic book, but he couldn't very well deny such claims from a large number of witnesses since having started just two days ago; scouring the town, going to past crime scenes, interviewing the police and whatnot.

Throughout his travel, there had been signs of heavy property damage, indicating that the fights between the killers and the vigilante were brutal and excessive. The end result of such fights however was tenuous and divisive, with people questioning if the criminals were arrested or even killed.

Most of them didn't even care if it was the latter.

Needless to say, the general public was spurred into frenzy over this. There was finally someone or something standing up to the murderers and saving people from getting killed. What made this even more significant was that past vigilante groups that tried to do the same during the early years of the killings always ended up in failure, with only a few survivors to speak of.

Said survivors often ended up in psych wards or were taken into protective custody. What was peculiar out of this was that no one ever gave a solid description of their attackers. Every time there was a testimony or a profile being taken, the information would always be vague.

They wore masks or costumes.

They were grey.

Big.

Beast men.

Giants.

Monsters.

Aliens.

Robots.

My ex-husband.

It was all the public could scrape out of a debacle that they were knee deep in. People were scared, confused and ready to just about throw up their hands in defeat. But just as everything was on the brink, a brave soul had seemingly risen out of nowhere and started taking back the streets.

The internet was ablaze with alleged photos, sightings, articles and speculations of this mysterious avenger. Putting the pieces together, Bart was able to draw out that the individual was wearing armor of some sort, perhaps for protection and to conceal his identity; fair enough, then there were bits where said person would use weapons and even his motorcycle to attack the killers; classic vigilante mentality, there was that.

The next part of the puzzle was the most confusing – or rather - suspicious of all; what happened to the perps? Why weren't there any bodies for the police to pick up?

Either they were taken secretly into custody or-

…

Well, that would put a new spin on Bart's career. "Crimson Man: Vigilante or Serial Collector?"

Not exactly a new or sensational piece of news, but in this business, Bart was willing to settle for a real life Dexter Morgan if it could mean his big break. Not a moment after Chen finished talking that Bart decided to put his investigative intuition to good use.

"Miss Chen, did you even try to get a good look at your surroundings, or what the two clearly looked like?"

Chen breathed out a deep sigh. "No, I tried to, I really did, but when the killer grabbed me, he caught me totally by surprise. He was behind me when he was dragging me to a darker part of the park. His hands…his hands felt like they were made out of bones or something – like I said probably body armor."

Bart cleared his throat. "What about your rescuer? What did he look like, aside from the glowing lights surrounding his body?"

"The lights only made it harder for me to make out a face because of the darkness, but the body shape told me that he was also wearing armor; from head to toe no less."

"_Bingo_!" Bart thought. "So is that all that you're willing to give Miss Chen, any additional information that you could spare for our viewers?"

Chen pursed her lips in thought before stating simply, "No."

"Thank you for your time Miss Chen, and I hope that you'd be a lot more careful the next time you venture outside at night, are we clear?"

Chen simply nodded before walking out of the camera's view, leaving only Bart and the small crowd behind him.

"Well folks, there you have it. Straight from Miss Chen's mouth, and if that doesn't tell you that something bizarre is going on right here in Middleton, then the world might as well be upside down. This has been Bart Lancaster of Good Morning Midd-"

Greg turned off the viewing screen that was showcasing the morning news, with Ron sitting on his usual couch while inspecting his equipment.

"Didn't think we'd get any attention this soon." Greg sighed, before walking up to sit on the couch from across the blonde.

"Uh-hu…you sure there isn't any evidence that could link you or me to any of those cases?" Ron asked without averting his eyes from his camera, otherwise known as the Faiz Shot.

"Positive, I always take the liberty of cleaning up any traces of either of our DNA or other forms of clues in the scene. Just like your…vomit back in the construction site."

Ron cringed in embarrassment. "Sorry about that…I just…never really did that before."

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Greg tapped his chin thoughtfully. "You mean take a life?"

Ron hung his head and closed his eyes. "Yeah."

"We've already been through this Ronald. The Orphnochs you killed were all agents of SMART BRAIN with only one mission and one mission only; kill as many people as possible while infecting them with the virus, hoping to make more of their kind."

"Tch, you mean my kind…" Ron retorted.

"What separates you from them my boy is that you are still a good person, willing to stand up for what's right. Although…doing the right thing isn't always the easiest, I admit." Greg trailed off as he whipped around towards his main computer.

"They deserved it…"

"Pardon?" Greg thought his ears were playing tricks on him.

Ron massaged the bridge of his nose, scrunching his eyes tightly.

"At first I thought that…it was wrong to kill them." Ron licked away the dryness of his lips. "But…the things they said…and the things they've done…one of them actually bragged to me that he killed his old boss' son when he broke into their house…he said that he didn't have to but…" Ron opened his eyes as he leaned back in his chair with a groan, his gaze slowly trailing the line of equipment in the laboratory.

"Then there was this guy who kidnapped a couple of teenagers to infect them. He tortured them before he even bothered to, and then…when he finally did, they all disintegrated."

Greg held a hand up. "That's enough Ronald…I understand what you're trying to say. I was always there to listen, remember? I'm not oblivious to such atrocities. What I'm especially worried about right now is how you're holding up. I certainly hope that you don't become…'entrenched' in this endeavor."

Ron sighed as he calmed himself from his rising temper. "I know…I haven't crossed that line…yet."

"And you never will, I'll personally see to that. You're not a murderer Ron; you've simply been driven into a situation where there is no simple solution. We're dealing with people who have long since crossed the moral threshold and need to be stopped at all costs." Greg sighed as he trailed off, secretly unsure if what he said was at all true or right.

Silence then reigned in the capacious and sterile room, before Greg found the nerve to speak again.

"We should resume with your training. You'll be dealing with Combat Simulation Level 3 today, let's just see if you're ready this time. I take it you've managed to call upon your past training in Tai Shing Pek Kwar?" Greg smirked playfully.

"Still a little rusty I'm afraid. Thank God for the suit, I'd be road kill if I didn't have it."

Greg chuckled. "The suit can only take you so far Ronald. As the user continues to grow stronger and improve, so will the suit multiply such progress."

"Right…" Ron muttered as he transformed.

The day went on without any signs of trouble, with Greg guessing that the agents had caught wind of the new hot shot that could actually put up a fight with them, and win. No doubt they were planning their next move, so, better to be prepared now more than ever. There were still new goodies that he had in store for Ron to use.

Little did he know that he was more on the money than he would have liked.

**Outskirts of Middleton…**

A lone figure was standing atop one of the hills that overlooked Middleton, his motorcycle stationed right next to him. A familiar looking and open briefcase could be made out lying snugly on the seat. Relishing the cold night air breezing through him, the figure fished his new sideflip phone out of his pocket.

"Neumann...yeah…don't worry, I'm sure this'll all blow over soon."

…

"What if he doesn't want to?"

…

"Agreed, Neumann out." Ending the call, he started dialling another number into the phone.

**9 – 1 – 3 Enter**

…

**Standing By**

Gavin Neumann grinned; the Kaixa Phone's voice was noticeably deeper than the Faiz Phone, which fittingly only made it more menacing in hindsight. Coolly, he closed the phone and placed it snugly into the buckle.

**COMPLETE**

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**I'm really starting to get into the groove of things. Expect more chapters in the near future. Peace out.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: Edited on 5/12/15. Some minor grammar and spelling errors rectified for a smoother reading experience, with the addition of some details to further clarify the context of the story.**

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**June 3, 2014**

**...**

Ron grumbled to himself as he rode down the street on his way to work. He had spent a good portion of the night in Greg's laboratory training and working out ways to best use the Faiz Gear. Combat Simulation Level 3 was by far the hardest since the main objective was to defeat multiple opponents ganging up on you.

The Level also had simulations of various venues in Middleton where he would be at a disadvantage; the sewers, tunnels, alleyways and abandoned buildings where his opponents would use the surrounding environment to their advantage.

He had failed 3 out of 5 sessions, but Greg noted that it was good enough for the time being.

What prompted this was that the scientist had just received word from hacking into the Middleton Police Department's records that the Riotrooper suits would be released later this month, where they would be unveiled to the public in front of City Hall in an inauguration ceremony.

Although he did not get an exact number of how many are to be employed, both men agreed that it was far better to be prepared in case Ron would ever end up against a small army of them, or worse. In the morning that came after, Ron spent the majority of it lying in bed out of fatigue, not the least made better by the fact that he still had an afternoon shift. He supposed that since becoming a part-time vigilante, he might as well put up with the rigors that came along with the job; however crappy they may be.

After dismounting his bike, he paused to rub his eyes for a moment. Much to his irritation, he was still feeling a bit lethargic; nothing a hot cup of crap coffee couldn't fix, he presumed.

Inside the lounge, Ron found only two people were occupying it; Bobbie Appleton and Sunny Dace. He ignored the duo as they were deep in conversation, while they seemed equally oblivious to his presence. Bobbie and Sunny were the least liked in the work crew since they were; for lack of a better word, slackers. Not to mention they regularly expressed unsavory behavior towards their fellows in a typical manner not unlike that of a high school bully, the irony being that they were indeed in their late teens and working towards college.

Ron had more often than not found common ground with his contemporaries in regard to these two. Several times, he and a good number of the others had voiced out their complaints to the manager to have them terminated, but much to their frustration, Sunny had one trump card up her sleeve to keep her and her friend from coming to that; Martin Smarty was her uncle.

Bullies were never anything new, since he had received more than his fair share in the past. Regardless of all the mounting abuse they would dish out to him, he'd always shrug it off with a smile and a dismissive wave of the hand.

It was all that he could do to avoid making a scene out of himself.

Walking past the idle chat, Ron took out a cup for himself at the counter and drew himself some coffee from the pot, oblivious of the leers that he was getting from the two girls.

Bobbie was the first to address him. "Good afternoon Mr. Stoppage." she was grinning as Ron had his back to them.

Ron's face deadpanned as he raised his eyes from his coffee and stared at the wall, hoping that if he ignored them long enough they'd leave him alone.

"Mr. Stoppable, yoohoo!" Sunny giggled with Bobbie.

He took a few large gulps of his drink, uncaring of the searing heat on his tongue; a mosquito bite compared to his spasms. Making his way for the door, he was caught off by Bobbie looping an arm around his free one. His face didn't even flinch as he twisted his head to look down at the younger girl, who was eyeing him sultrily.

Ron resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "I'll be late for my shift Bobbie. Let go. Now." He told her mechanically; more like an order, making his displeasure as tangible as possible.

Bobby threw her head back with a small chuckle. "Oh Mr. Stoppable, don't be so mean, we just wanted to say hello."

"Like I said, I'll be late, so I simply don't have the time or the patience to entertain you two." Ron was tempted to just shove her away, but buried the thought quickly as Sunny came near to back her friend up. The brunette crossed her arms as she smiled at him, although from a distance, one could easily have mistaken it as a smirk.

Sunny was about to say something when she was interrupted by the door, with Rick Stone walking in and stopping at the scene before him.

The other man just stood there with an unreadable expression as he darted his eyes at each of them, while Ron just stared past the raven haired; annoyed that this was even happening of all days.

After clearing his throat, Rick broke the ice. "Well this is certainly a new one from you Stoppable. Can I join in?" he grinned toothily at the three, with the girls inwardly blanching in disgust at his suggestion.

"Nah, I just remembered that we still have some shopping to do later. Come on Bobbie!" the two girls quickly went for their bags and walked briskly past Rick, elbowing him as they did so.

Rick just sighed with that same toothy grin as he looked at Ron smugly, although the blonde knew by now that it was just him being friendly.

"You owe me," the raven haired pointed out as he gunned him with his fingers.

Ron rolled his eyes again, but there was no denying that he was grateful; however unlikely he felt that way towards the man at times.

During the past few weeks, he and Rick had been on friendlier terms than usual, although he later admitted to himself that he hadn't been that quite generous in giving the other man a chance to begin with.

To think, Ron had always been under the assumption that he was the one tolerating Rick's antics from the day they met, only for it to have been the other way around the whole time - although, begrudgingly, a small part of him had always been conscious of that. The blonde supposed an apology was long overdue, but nothing seemed irreparable in the long run.

"Thanks Rick," Ron muttered, while the other just shrugged.

"You kidding? You may have just cost me a chance to ask two; and I sincerely hope legal, girls from a night at the town." He trailed off with a casual smirk, which did nothing to betray the sarcasm in his voice.

Ron smirked and walked past him to head for his shift at the pet shop.

**Later…**

Ron was walking up to his scooter that was parked in its usual spot, head hung low as he was doing his damnedest to forget all that had transpired during his shift. Apparently, someone _can_ be incompetent enough to set half the pets in the store free and let them loose in the mall. It took every ounce of willpower he had to bury the unbridled urge to wring his coworker's neck out deep into the darkest recesses of his mind, if only to avoid termination - he would worry about getting arrested if it ever came to that.

The blonde had to explain to the manager very carefully that he was busy minding the counter while the idiot was fumbling with the animals; unlocking their cages and tanks while forgetting - or perhaps uncaring - to lock them back in place before it was too late. Anyone worth their two cents would have had the common sense to avoid such a mistake. But Ron reckoned there was a first time for anything in a person's life, and much to his ever mounting vexation, this was one of them.

"_Well_..._at least it could have been worse_." A part of him thought that he shouldn't think or even say that old statement, but perhaps it was just a force of habit.

Seeing his punctured tires simply affirmed the validity of that age old saying. "Unbelievable…" he muttered as he raked his hair with his fingers. Fortunately, he was snapped out of his rising temper by the phone vibrating in his pocket. With a sigh, he fished it out and answered the call without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"_Hey Ron, it's me._"

"Kim?" he didn't remember planning anything with her, so maybe this was a casual call.

"_Just wanted to know how you're doing_." Ron could hear the hum of an engine in the background, she must have been driving.

"Fine…uh, are we on for something?" Ron asked carefully, since he was wary that if he forgot some big date that they were planning, he knew Kim would chew him out for it; not that he ever saw it as a bad thing.

"_Not exactly_," Ron let out a small sigh of relief that he hoped she didn't notice, "_my dad is having this big college reunion coming up and he's inviting us to come along. How would you like to be my date?_"

The gears in Ron's brain turned. "_I think Greg can give me a night off for this one_..._better ask him just to be sure_. I can probably make it KP, when can I pick you up?"

"_Tomorrow at 7. Wait - probably? Are __you busy or do you have a shift_?"

Ron bit his lip. "I'll just give my manager the heads up before I leave, but just in case I have a more pressing appointment..."

"_It's not a problem_. _I understand if you can't come._"

"No, I can make it," Ron stammered, "I just have to re-prioritize my schedule. Besides," a smirk then grew on his lips, "all the guys there might end up thinking you're free."

Kim chuckled. "_Well, whichever's best, we'll see by tomorrow night. Love you_."

"Yeah, love you." He ended the call and resumed his attention at the minor dilemma that he was facing. "Welp, no use in towing it for repairs now," he muttered and wondered if it was best to just take a taxi home and resolve this tomorrow…or –

Ron's lips spread into a small smile as he took his _other_ phone out.

**Much later…**

It had taken some amount of effort to convince Greg to let him borrow Auto Vajin earlier than expected, despite the fact that it was technically under his ownership as well. Still, with all of the time that he had been investing in taking down Orphnochs and the training that he endured, the blonde had to have at least earned some small perks.

Even with the customization to its body, at first glance, Auto really couldn't compared to all of the other top models in the market today, but Ron still appreciated the bike for its reliability, simplicity - and something extra special.

It was now late in the afternoon, just before nightfall, but the sky was already darkening because of the upcoming downpour. Ron was thankful that he had taken his portable umbrella with him in his glove compartment, before replacing it in Auto before leaving Smarty Mart premises. The forecast said that it was going to be one doozy of a storm, so better to be prepared than not.

After a short while, he came across his usual street corner; one of the more remote parts of the town. With only a few strays out in the open lurking or rifling through garbage, it was a relatively quiet neighborhood, accentuated only by the long abandoned buildings. He had heard some time ago that SMART BRAIN had bought this area out shortly after its rise to being one of the top corporations.

What was left was a thin sliver of melancholy in the air that Ron had long since taken notice of from his nightly rounds; a part of the town that more often than not found itself at the very bottom of the public's awareness. Every nook and cranny of where they could usually be occupying became devoid of their presence, a fact that seemed to have left an eerie vacuum of longing and guilt in the pit of Ron's stomach.

It wasn't at all a mystery on what befell most of them. Still, there were shelters where the people who _did_ care were doing their best in watching over the less fortunate that managed to survive.

A dull explosion from the distance snapped Ron out of his focus, causing him to break to a halt. He darted his gaze to his right and saw black smoke billowing in the sky. With a roar of the engine, he headed for the direction of the blast, determined to help any injured that may have gotten caught. Minutes later, he was greeted by the smoldering ruins of an old cannery. The explosion must have been big since the damage was extensive, with a large chunk of the roof having been blown off, revealing a veritable amount of debris and rubble piling on the rusted out; and now wrecked, machinery.

He was about to dismount to take out his gear when Auto's security alarm suddenly activated, "**_Warning_****: _Foreign _****_Mission Memory Detected_****!**"

Ron's eyes widened as he instantly knew what that meant, as Greg had briefed him on the topic about a week ago.

Turns out, Faiz wasn't the only special armor that the scientist had developed.

Ron reacted quickly as he took his equipment from the glove compartment and activated Auto Vajin's battle mode. Immediately, the motorcycle transformed into a humanoid form that was about 7 ft. in height, with the chassis as its main torso, and the front and back being its upper and lower body respectively.

"Auto, defend!" Ron ordered.

Auto Vajin consented and immediately assumed a combat stance, with his back wheel acting as a shield by his left hand and his right armed with his three barreled machine gun.

Wasting no time, he immediately set his equipment into their respective holsters and snapped the belt around his waist. Next came the phone.

**5 - 5 - 5**

**Enter**

**...**

**Standing By...**

After snapping the phone shut, he raised it above his head.

"Henshin!"

He quickly placed the phone into the slot and pushed it snugly into the buckle.

**Complete**

Red neon lights then coursed throughout his body in a pattern reminiscent of his suit, before being engulfed in it entirely. Now armored, he darted around, using his scanners to feel for any readings of the Mission Memory, while Auto was doing the same.

After a moment, Ron heard the blare of a gunshot hitting Auto by his gas tank, pushing the robot back a bit. Fortunately, the plating was strong enough for it to withstand. Using his scanner, Ron traced the source to a nearby arcade, where a lone figure was leaning by the doorway, brandishing what appeared to be a sword with a cross shaped handle.

The individual was covered from head to toe in a suit that was not unlike his, only with many aesthetic differences. The full metal lung and shoulder guards were more robust and had a much darker silvery finish; giving it the appearance of traditional armor. Instead of crimson red, the Photon Streams that served as the suit's pathways for its power source were bright yellow in color, ending only by the gauntlet and anklet terminals, while two lines that went over the edges of the shoulder guards and intertwining in the stomach gave the impression of a large 'X'.

Like Ron's helmet, the figure's had a purple visor that would have made a perfect circle, but was split down the middle by a yellow 'X' shaped frame, with the edges extending upwards to form dorsal fin-shaped antennae that were wider and larger compared to the Faiz Armor's. The metallic mouth guard helped to hold it snugly in place, etched with a distinct insect-like pattern.

The figure lazily leaned by the frame of the door, tilting his head as if considering them. Ron readied himself into a stance and activated the audio filter of his suit, allowing him to speak through it. Contrary to popular belief, having your entire head encased in a helmet did very little in regard to the the articulation of your speech, facilitating the need for a filter as a standard for SMART BRAIN armors; courtesy of Greg.

Of course, there was a more practical benefit for that particular feature.

"Who are you?" Ron asked in a deeper rendition of his voice.

The figure just continued to laze about silently, ignoring the question, causing Ron to tread near. "Answer me, did SMART BRAIN send you?"

Ron took his phone out of the buckle and switched it to gun mode:

**1 - 0 - 3**

**Enter**

**...**

**Single Mode**

He drew his weapon at the stranger as he crept closer. "You better answer me right now or I'll be forced to shoot." with every step he took, Ron could feel his heart pounding as the adrenaline within him rose.

The stranger just continued to ignore him as he fumbled with his sword, before suddenly stabbing the ground with it. Puzzled, Ron stopped and braced himself. Still gripping the weapon, the stranger just tilted his head again at him as if in a sidelong glance, then proceeded to cock the sword's hammer.

Ron literally didn't know what hit him as he was pushed back by the force of the blast square in the shoulder, denting the plating a bit, but otherwise failing to penetrate. The blonde fell on his back as he dropped the Faiz Phone. Out of breath, Ron slowly got on all fours to try and compose himself, before receiving a swift kick to the stomach.

Despite the Sol foam absorbing most of the blow, the kick was still strong enough to knock the wind out of him. Again on all fours, Ron clutched his; quite possibly, bruised middle. The figure now stood over him, arms crossed and rubbing his chin in thought, while the other hand was still clutching the sword.

Fortunately, Auto now saw this as the perfect opportunity to act as it fired a barrage of bullets at the enemy. Unprepared, the latter took cover back in the arcade. Getting his wits back, Ron crawled towards his phone before rising to his feet and rejoining his vehicular sidekick.

"Thanks a lot Auto!" Ron snapped sarcastically, which the robot in turn responded with a series of beeping noises; most likely his way of saying, "Don't mention it."

Ron would have rolled his eyes if he wasn't high on the alert for his opponent to strike again. "Come out and show yourself, if you're with SMART BRAIN, then I have a couple of questions to ask you!"

Nothing. Ron's patience thinned as he drew his weapon out again, only this time he wasn't so stupid as to go in without a battle plan. He waited for the next few minutes before Auto started firing again at the alleyway next to the arcade, and sure enough the stranger was there, parrying as many of the bullets coming his way with his sword, while some still managed to graze and bounce off the armor.

The figure quickly converted his Blaygun to gun mode by taking out the mission memory to return fire, blowing out Auto's to disarm him. The loss of his own weapon however, only caused the behemoth to advance forward in retaliation. He fired again, but the machine's shield deflected the Photon bullets with ease. Anticipating this, he took out the Kaixa Shot from his belt and inserted the mission memory into its slot.

**Ready**

He then pressed the enter button on his phone.

**Exceed Charge**

Drawing it back, Kaixa ran to meet the giant head on. Seeing this, Ron took out his own Faiz Shot and did the same. The blonde had to time this just right if he and Auto were going to pull off a combination attack. Kaixa instantly caught on to this as the duo were ganging up on him; he grinned under his helmet.

As Faiz and Auto were about to deliver a devastating blow, Kaixa ducked just low enough for Auto's shield to miss him. Within that split second time frame, everything seemed to slow down as Ron tried to aim for Kaixa's head, only for the latter to duck lower and do a sweep to knock the blonde off his feet.

Still not done, Kaixa quickly shifted his weight using his forearm and twirled around to deliver a punch laced with several tons of force to Auto's back, blowing a hole straight through and bringing the behemoth down.

Enraged, Ron jumped back up to his feet and lunged for Kaixa with his Faiz Shot, which the latter easily parried by the forearm, careful to avoid getting hit. Thinking on his feet, Ron used his other arm to punch himself free and roll to his left to crouch as he aimed for his opponent's groin, causing the latter to back away and holster his Kaixa Shot.

Taking out the mission memory from the camera, Kaixa took out his Blaygun again and reconverted it to reuse as a sword. This time, he activated the Photon conduit to imbue the Sol glass blade with energy, turning it into a light saber.

Ron's eyes widened; he had to do something fast.

Drawing his sword, Kaixa was about to attack but stopped as sirens could be heard nearing from a distance. Ron gripped the weight in his hand tightly as he slowly rose to his feet, not taking his eyes off the other.

For a single moment, the blonde held his breath as they just stared at one another, before Kaixa gave him a two fingered salute and spun on his heel, running off and disappearing into the same alleyway.

Judging it wise to let him go for now, Ron threw his head back as he breathed a sigh of relief. Mindful of the sirens, he hastily ran up to his fallen comrade. "Auto, are you alright!?"

The robot made a series of beeping noises in response, indicating that he was okay. Now panting as the adrenaline was slowly leaving him, the blonde sat back against Auto; exhausted and out of breath. He didn't even blink as they were spirited away by Greg to his garage not a moment longer before the fire engines arrived.

* * *

**Author's Note: For all of those wondering why Ron has to yell out 'Henshin' while transforming, it is a code word that was earlier installed into the phone to act as an extra security measure along with the bio-lock to prevent just anyone from using the Faiz Gear. Greg was inspired by his friend Toby Tachibana, who is also a Tokusatsu enthusiast. In this universe however, 'Kamen Rider' does not exist. Instead, there are only alternate renditions of Super Sentai and Metal Heroes.**


	17. Chapter 17

The repairs to Auto were; for lack of a better word, tedious. The blow to his torso did more than enough damage to necessitate repairs and a few upgrades that Greg was planning to install sooner or later. As such, Ron was left to rest and ponder on what the hell just happened back there.

"This is bad!" Greg lamented as he was fumbling with his tools.

Ron sighed and leaned his head back on the sofa. "You're telling me. The guy was on fire, I couldn't even land a decent hit while he took me and Auto out like yesterday's news."

Having watched a record of the fight from the suit's visual memory, Greg instantly recognized the armor, and blanched in shock.

"The Kaixa Gear."

Ron perked his ears. "The what!?"

"I owe you another apology Ronald. I never thought that they'd actually complete it at such a short time. Heck, I didn't think they'd finish it at all."

Ron let out a small sigh. He didn't exactly blame Greg for keeping secrets; or at the very least information that he failed to gloss over; however it may have inconvenienced him. "It's fine Greg. So what exactly is the Kaixa Gear?"

As Greg was mending Auto's torso, he continued with the exposition. "The Kaixa Gear was created as a means to improve on what the Faiz Gear lacked; power. It was developed for the purpose of incorporating liberties that I wasn't able to enter into the initial design. With an array of weapons not unlike your own, the only significant difference is that it can hit harder and faster."

Ron facepalmed. "Wow Greg, I gotta say that you really outdid yourself on that one."

Greg chuckled awkwardly. "It wasn't supposed to make the cut. There were...a few flaws that prevented it from being deemed suitable for use."

"Such as?" Ron cocked an eyebrow.

"It was overtaxing the user. Apparently, the gear focuses on enhancing the physical abilities of its wearer to the absolute limit. This involves tapping directly into the body's cells and charging them beyond what would be considered safe; even for an Orphenoch.

"The results were...well...I wouldn't say promising. We actually lost two volunteers just from initial trials."

Ron gulped. "It's that dangerous?"

Greg cringed. "In the right hands, it can do a tremendous amount of damage that even the Faiz Gear would have trouble catching up to. Ronald, we need to be prepared if we're ever going to last. This has just gotten a lot more dangerous." Greg paused at his task. "And I think I know who's under the suit."

Ron looked at Greg and hesitated to ask, knowing that this was one of those dramatic reveals that he often saw on t.v.

Sensing the young man's curiosity, he remotely gestured to his computer to open the database.

Skimming through a list of people; labeled as SMART BRAIN employees, he stopped at a picture of a man that couldn't have been older than Ron.

The man looked slim; indicating a wiry build, with a pale complexion and short jet black hair that was curled down to his ears. In the picture, the man was smiling and had a serene look in his eyes, but for some reason Ron felt a bit unnerved looking at It.

"Allow me to introduce Gavin Neumann, head of security at SMART BRAIN, and arguably one of their most powerful; if not the most powerful, agent they have. Here is his orphnoch form." Greg made a gesture with his hand and moved the screen into a picture of a giant humanoid creature with two large horns, thick armored plating, and large menacing dragon heads for forearms. Ron nodded absently and whistled as he took the guy's orphnoch form in. That would be so cool, if he didn't have to take the poor bastard out of his misery one day. But he also felt a bit defensive of his own orphnoch form; hey it was cool too!

Greg continued. "Gavin is arguably the only person I can bet to not only be the one who can survive wielding the suit, but reliable enough to be given a job. And that job, is to hunt us down." Greg rubbed his chin in worry. "We need to re-strategize Ron. If Gavin is involved, then we'll need to pull out all stops. He's no ordinary adversary that we can simply take for granted. Don't let his appearance fool you, he's had military training before and is adept at not only combat, but tactics as well."

"Okay...but-"

"But first you need to rest."

Ron paused before giving a single nod. He suddenly remembered the party.

"Actually Greg, I've been invited by my girlfriend to her dad's college reunion tomorrow...I've been meaning to tell you before the whole thing with Gavin." Ron inwardly crossed his fingers.

The scientist stopped at his task and spared Ron a meaningful glance, then resumed his work before replying. "If you're going, then be sure to get plenty of rest afterwards...we may need to lay low for a while."

Ron nodded.

To spare Ron the hassle of walking, he was teleported directly into his apartment. Ron heaved a sigh of relief. Giving himself a moment, the blonde checked all of the bruises that Gavin had given him and found that he was already healed.

Thanking his luck, he spent the next moment to drink some water and go straight to bed in his work clothes.

The next day went by like usual.

By then, he managed to pick his scooter up and take it in for tire changes, unfortunately, the bill was more than he could afford and decided to leave it behind until he could scrape up enough cash. After finishing his shift, he walked home to spare some money for later; it was better to be prepared as Greg had told him. He then mustered the drive to change into his formal best; his father's suit no longer fit him, so with the money that he managed to earn and put aside, he was able to purchase for himself a more proper tux.

If only to please the co-worker whose party he attended a few months ago. It was only when he was ready to go did he decide to settle for a taxi. Ron supposed he could afford a little more embarrassment.

Indeed, when he finally arrived to pick Kim up, she did her best to not seem as put off as far as the blonde could tell.

Her assurances fell on deaf ears. He instantly condemned his luck and wished that he could have finished Gavin off when he had the chance to at least have something to show for yesterday's fiasco, but the damage was already done. Why did things like this always happen to him?

At the party, Ron and Kim met up with her family; with her father doing his best to not brag to his colleagues of how much of a success his Kimmy-cub was.

It went relatively well, but it was when Ron was for-_ encouraged_ to mingle with the crowd, did the blonde's problems just take on a whole new level of suck.

"Come on Ron, try to be more sociable, talk to someone." Kim nudged him by the arm that she was holding. Both were seated at a family table, with Kim having long finished entertaining her father's fellow alumni; and some of their sons, and so had earned herself a bit of rest.

Ron on the other hand, for the first part of the party, had done the complete opposite. Simply sitting on his ass and being as invisible as possible - partaking in the drinks, the hors d'oeuvres and whatever else to distract him from all the noise.

"Look KP, I don't know any of these people. I'm only going to make a fool of myself."

Kim gave him a somber smile. "You won't know until you try. You used to love talking to people."

"Yeah, I used to..." Ron turned to face Kim but stopped when she gave him 'The Look'. How many times has she ever given him that look? When was the last time did she even do that to him?

Palm met with face as he considered his options - get it over with and talk to one of these yahoos OR get the silent treatment for the rest of the night.

Ron could have sworn that fighting orphnochs was easier than this. In the next moment he found himself being dragged along by James through a few guests, being introduced as his daughter's boyfriend. Some gave him odd looks, while others greeted him with the professionalism that was often expected in gatherings like this.

Ron had to remind himself that he wasn't in school anymore. These people weren't a gang of petty old bullies, they were of respectable society; some of them he even recognized as town officials, businessmen and...what?

"Ronald," James motioned the blonde to introduce him to a man that appeared to be in his late fifties, "this is Avery Westlake, CEO of SMART BRAIN Inc. and also one of our investors at the Space Center."

Avery was well built for his age, but his hair was graying. He was wearing a black power suit, a red tie, and black polished shoes. Next to the man was probably the last person that he wanted to meet. Just like his picture, Neumann was as thin as a stick, and he wore a small grin on his face. He was wearing his own suit, but the tie was black. He was eyeing the blonde, as if studying him, while Ron simply glowered in silence at the two men.

Avery was the first to speak. "Hello James, wonderful to be here. By the way, I'd like you to meet my chief of security, Gavin Neumann." The latter gave a small bow. The CEO's eyes then traveled to look at the blonde. His expression; which a moment ago was a sort of smug calmness, shifted into a hardened stare. "Good evening Mr. Stoppable, I trust you're doing well."

Ron shifted uncomfortably. He had every idea that this man knew that he was Faiz, since Gavin was with him; who no doubt was sent to eliminate him. But considering the time and place, it was probably for the best to just play dumb.

"Um...hi? It's a real surprise to be meeting you here Mr. Westlake...for the first time...in the flesh...?" Ron's eyes shifted uncomfortably.

There was an awkward pause, before James broke the ice. "So Avery, are you enjoying yourselves?"

The other man nodded. "Indeed, although I never really expected to meet up with a ghost from the past - " Ron twitched from the choice of words " - I hope that the company's compensation for your recovery was sufficient."

The blonde took a moment to compose himself; his earlier assumption was wrong...it was high school all over again. "I've been...experiencing a lot of changes in my life, but overall, I'm doing quite well." Every bone in his body was aching to drive his blades into this asshole's skull for all the pain and death that he was causing, but the current occasion simply did not allow him to go through with it. He clenched his right hand in his pocket.

Avery continued. "I simply cannot apologize enough for the plight that you've been going through all these years. I do hope that we might have a chance to settle things under better circumstances, and on more amicable terms." Ron simply gave him a begrudging smile in response - being all the more careful not to be baited. "On more pressing matters, I must say James that the Space Center has been quite fruitful in its endeavors lately, hasn't it."

Jim's eyes seemed to twinkle with the same enthusiasm that he was always known for. "Think nothing of it Avery. Anything to further advance our goals. Rest assured that my people have been working around the clock to complete the project. Oh and uh...one of our own would especially like to express his gratitude."

James guided the three of them near the stage of the hall that they were renting, where a man was standing; hands in pockets and back towards them, Ron narrowed his eyes at him. He was dressed in a black suit, with his red hair sleeked back.

James immediately introduced him as he placed a hand on the mystery person's shoulder. "Gentlemen, this is Felix Renton, one of our top engineers."

Ron froze in silence as he heard the name. How could this man be Felix? It was probably another Felix Renton, because - well - this guy was _standing_.

His speculation was cut short however, when the man turned around to face his benefactors. But instead of the rehearsed thank you's and compliments that the former wheelchair bound was planning on raining on the ones that made it possible for him to finally stand on his own two feet; figuratively and literally, both friends instantly recognized and reacted to one another in shock.

"Ron?" The red head's eyes widened as he caught sight of the blonde along with the two that he was expecting to meet.

The noise of the room seemed to slowly die down as Ron took the time to absorb all of the recent happenings lately. An assassin was sent after and almost killed him, two of his enemies were now practically within an arm's reach (one of them being said assassin), Felix was standing - _standing_, and to top it all off - for all the time that he was here, none of the waiters had given him any complimentary refills.

Oh yeah, this night just keeps getting better and better.


	18. Chapter 18

For the rest of the night, the party went on without a hitch; that is to say, it became incredibly boring when a good number of the guests had already left. Except maybe for Ron, who was now entrenched in a conversation with a certain someone.

"So you finally did it huh?"

Felix started, but took a sip of his drink first. "Not exactly the surprise that I was hoping for, but I guess you really do have to make do with what ya get." he grinned at the blonde, which the latter did not have the luxury of returning.

"I take it that it's one of those long stories? But just to save on time, why don't we put it on hold for a bit. Right now, I bet the lady would just love to see you." Ron's tone of voice was a bit lethargic, which wasn't lost to the other man, but attributed it boredom - as opposed to growing frustration.

Kim didn't disappoint when she finally saw Felix; on his feet, with it being her turn to gape at the spectacle of her friend's seemingly miraculous bout of mobility.

They embraced, while Ron patted him on the back. Next came the answers.

"So, how should I start?" Felix steepled his fingers, with him sitting in between the couple with silent anticipation.

"Take your time man, we have all night - well - maybe not all night, so just spill already." Ron motioned calmly, but still managing a glower from Kim.

A bark of laughter escaped from the one being interrogated. "Well...in terms of actually giving you guys a straight answer, I'd much rather keep most of what happened classified. You know, we've been having some major beefing up on our security because of...let's just say a project that we really wouldn't want getting too much attention on."

The couple exchanged nods, having more than enough experience on the established conditions.

"Like I explained to you back at the party Ron, the Space Center's been given a contract by SMART BRAIN, for a way to make people more adept at space travel. As you can see for yourself, I stepped up (no pun intended) to the procedure, and here I am now."

Ron cocked an eyebrow. "Does that mean you're, what - a cyborg?"

Felix chuckled dryly. "There's just something different. I'm not exactly a cyborg in the traditional sense. Although I have been fitted with a new spine. Grafted with a material that was provided by the company-"

"Sol." Ron interjected.

Felix's brows shot up, then inched his face to the blonde slowly. "How in the hell do you know that?" he whispered, and although his expression was blank, Ron could tell that the red head was both suspicious and edgy.

Ron pressed his lips - he really shouldn't have said what he knew.

"I heard Mr. Dr. P talk about it while we were with Mr. Westlake. He said it was 'the next big thing' or something like that."

Ron held his breath as he watched Felix for anything that would have warranted even more suspicion. Could he be in league with SMART BRAIN now? Could he have been made into one of their agents?

He actually took the time a week ago to visit Norma at the hospital along with Rick, and while there, he had a camera hidden in his ID for Greg to do a bio scan on her. He was more than glad that Norma was still alive, but much to both their chagrin, she became infected with the virus and was now carrying the risk of becoming an orphnoch.

Although worried, Ron wasn't really that paranoid of Norma suddenly becoming a monster - unless of course she died and was resurrected by the virus while under ER - right under the doctors' noses. If that was the case, then it was agreed that they would have to be vigilant. Ron wasn't stupid however, and warned Greg not to let paranoia get the best of them, lest they inadvertently provoke Norma into becoming the very monster that they wanted to avoid. If the time ever came, then they'd help her through it.

After about a minute, Felix seemed to deflate, and patted Ron's shoulder. "Sorry man...I'm still a little jumpy. What with work...not to mention the physical therapy I'm still going through."

Kim and Ron shared a look before the former continued the conversation. "So Felix, I take it Zita's happy for you - unless of course you haven't told her yourself already."

Felix scratched the back of his neck, a tinge of crimson on his cheeks. "Yeah, well...she still doesn't know." Felix seemed to deflate even more. "Zita and I haven't really been seeing each other...much lately."

Oh boy, this is what Ron was afraid of. He just knew that, at some point in this conversation, they would be going into this - namely - Felix's love life.

During the late years of high school and all the way through college, Felix and Zita were pretty much inseparable - next to him and Kim (before the...you know) - but considering she and Felix were now both with professional careers (she's a software designer) their relationship was under some strain.

Now that Felix could walk, it was up in the air on how Zita was going to take it. She might freak out, question the moral consequences behind such an operation, or indulge in the fact that her man now had feeling from the waist down.

Damn.

It was a fifty fifty sort of thing, and frankly, Ron was hoping that it wouldn't lead to anything awkward.

The blonde's brows knit into a scowl. "You're going to have to eventually."

Felix ran his hand down his face. "Don't you think I haven't tried? I even called her today...all I got was her answering machine."

Kim laid a hand on his shoulder. "Felix, listen to me. If you don't talk to her about this issue, it's only going to damage your relationship even more...Ron and I are still working it out between us as it is."

Ron cocked a brow. "You're just upset that I wasn't able to give you a good ride here."

Kim smirked at him. "It's only fair."

Felix chuckled, although this time it was lighter than when their talk started. "I'll talk to her. Maybe even go down on my knees to do it."

The three friends just laughed as Felix was handed another drink from a passing by waiter - causing Ron to glance by latter's direction and catch Gavin around the corner - the guy was at the buffet table indulging himself.

Seeing a chance, Ron excused himself from the table. "Uh Kim, I'm feeling a little peckish. Do you mind if I leave you two to catch up even more?"

Kim became slightly confused, but nodded nonetheless. Ron thanked her and he walked off.

As he neared the man, he could feel his blood pumping, readying just in case things were going to get hostile.

Gavin had his back to Ron as he was taking an extra turkey leg from the pan - but his usual grin came back as he could just sense the blonde coming.

"Cute date, is that Possible?"

Ron stopped by a foot as he heard the other man refer to Kim.

"Don't get any ideas...so you're Gavin."

"That's what my mom calls me." Gavin shrugged as he walked along the edge of the table to get more food, without diverting his attention away from the delicacies. Upon closer look, Ron could make out that the man's plate was packed - a few slices of ox tongue, some potato salad, a large slice of pork chop, pasta, some tempura and finally, a large turkey leg.

Ron suppressed the urge to ask him where in the hell he was gonna stuff all that, and instead moved straight to the matter at hand.

"You owe me a bike...and your head."

Gavin shrugged again. "Can I put a rain check on that? Still gotta get my pay and all. I'm sure you understand."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Cut the crap. You better believe I'll be coming after you - you_ and _your boss. Because whatever it is your planning, we will stop you."

The raven haired stopped as he spared Ron a look, put his plate down on the table, and - completely out of nowhere - stomped on Ron's foot.

Expectedly, this caught the blonde totally by surprise. He grit his teeth to try and stop himself from hollering from the sudden spike of pain as he grasped the attacked limb with both hands. Not even his enhanced senses could have anticipated it, seeing as how his train of thought was locked on trying to get something out of the bastard.

As soon as Ron calmed down, only then did he notice the people staring at him. It was only a few of the nearby guests who heard the stomp.

Ron slowly held his hand up as he smiled nervously. "Stubbed my foot."

This gradually averted attention as he returned to Gavin, who just continued to ignore him; seemingly more focused on the food.

With a slight limp, he walked up to the raven haired. "I am so going to get you back for that!"

Gavin just chuckled in response. "Oh man, is this really all there is to you Stoppable? Well, I guess our expectations of you were a little uncalled for."

"Don't test me!" Ron was glaring daggers now at the other man. He felt his muscles contracting as he was tempted to transform. Gavin seemed to have noticed and his smile grew. "Do it, and you'll be the only one here, not me."

Ron forced himself to calm down, if only to stop his transformation.

His temper however, was still on the rise. "I know your kind Neumann. You think you're invincible, but you can bet that I've taken down guys like you."

In between that little statement, Gavin had decided to give his undivided attention to the blonde, if only to observe how much of a fool he was making himself.

"You must think you're some kind of superhero, don't you Stoppable?"

Ron shook his head. "I'm no hero - _Gavin_ \- because I've already done some pretty questionable things - namely slaughtering your goons."

That seemed to do the trick, as that smug smile instantly disappeared. "So?"

"So, you better watch yourself. Because I want to make sure that you know that I'm going to grind you to dust. No hesitation. No second thoughts.

"You're dead."

And just like back in the street, they became locked in a stare, silently battling one another for dominance. They were only broken out of it by the sound of James's voice up on stage. The party was nearing its conclusion, and Gavin was still hungry.

He immediately took up his plate and was about to walk off, but not before looking back at the speck that had the guts to actually talk down to him like that. If anything, he might as well take the bug's challenge to shut him up, as he was half expecting his night to go smoothly. But if there was ever going to be a victor amongst them, Gavin had no such delusions as to who it would be.

"Good luck."


	19. Chapter 19

**Kim Possible and Kamen Rider Faiz are not under my ownership. **

* * *

"Shit…"

Ron and Greg watched in silence at the news, where a live broadcast of the inauguration of the Riotroopers at City Hall was being held. The audience could only watch in awed silence at the lined group of men; standing tall with their hands behind their backs. All of them were in SMART BRAIN uniforms and were wearing on each of their waists belts that were not unlike Ron's or Gavin's. The only difference was that the belts didn't seem to need a phone, as the activation module was already integrated into the buckle.

When the mayor gave the signal, all of them slotted the modules into place. A bright flash of light emanated from stage before dissipating, revealing the men now donned in their armor. The Riotrooper was actually more similar to the Faiz Armor in appearance. The body suit was black spandex, only the trimmings and Sol plating were bronze in color, and the visor was a perfect circular purple lens. Each of them drew out their weapons from their belts; daggers that also doubled as guns, and gave them a twirl before holstering them back in.

The crowd was left gaping at the spectacle, before breaking out in amazed cheers.

"Once again, SMART BRAIN has provided for us a great service, in which our fine men and women will now be better equipped to defend our fair city and restore order." Mayor John Candid spoke proudly over the microphone.

One of the reporters in the crowd quickly shot up their hand. "Yes young man?"

"What about the one who's been going around cleaning up the streets lately Mayor Candid, the one they call 'The Crimson Rider'? Is he a part of this?"

Candid licked the dryness from his lips and tilted his head. "You mean that unsanctioned vigilante?"

Some in the crowd of spectators whispered amongst themselves at this, while the reporter kept going.

"You mean he's not a part of the Riotrooper project?" If the mayor had looked more closely, he would have seen the reporter's brows knit into a frown.

"Like any upstart civilian who thinks they can take the law into their own hands, I just hope that the authorities catch up to him. Mind you, vigilantism is still against the law and is more for the mutual safety of all parties involved." He smiled genially at the crowd as he said this, although Ron did not fail to notice that it didn't reach his eyes.

The reporter wasn't done yet. "Yes, that's all well and good Mr. Mayor, but how can you explain the guy wearing armor that's suspiciously similar to what those guys are wearing right now."

"Let me be clear, the state does not recognize whoever this 'Crimson Rider' is. Nor do we condone his methods-"

"But at least he's doing something about it! We've been feeling a lot safer lately with him going around than we've been for the past few years." Some of the people in the crowd loudly agreed to what the reporter pointed out, while others grumbled in silence. The mayor inwardly grimacing at this annoyance, his smile quickly shifting into a lopsided grin.

"Well, we'll see in the long run as to where that will lead to. But right now, I present to you our real defenders!" As the mayor trailed off in his pronouncement; his hand extended towards the Riotroopers, the group of men took a step forward at the same time before de-transforming.

The ceremony continued without further interruption, after the mayor asked once more on whether the reporters still had questions or not.

…

Greg pressed his lips together. "I find this development perplexing. They weren't supposed to be released until next month. This is going to muddle all of our plans."

Ron heaved a sigh and closed his eyes as he leaned back against the sofa. "What was your first clue?"

"The Riotroopers aren't as powerful as the Faiz or Kaixa Gear, so…we can at least count that as an advantage." Greg steepled his fingers together as he contemplated on the escalating situation. If he was to let things go on as they were, then he and Ron were going to find themselves dusted in no time.

Ron grunted disparagingly. "What are _you_ so worried about? I'm the one breaking my back out there."

"I know how it feels to be putting your life on the line, my boy. Gavin was not the least bit kind in pursuing me when I first ran off with what little I could procure of my research." Ron rolled his eyes at this as Greg stood up from his seat, and walked up to the work table where the Faiz Gear was being monitored.

"Last night, aside from the repairs done to Auto, I've taken the liberty of upgrading your equipment. I've managed to alter the mechanics of the Faiz Pointer. Now, instead of a stun gun, it'll serve as a conduit for the Photon Drill."

Ron arched a brow as he looked to his benefactor. "Photon Drill?"

"It's one of the attacks that I developed for Faiz. The user simply generates an energy drill that would serve as a pathway in which it could be travelled into, where they would be converted into raw energy for a split second. After which, they would literally be able to phase through the intended target." Greg paused for a moment to catch his breath.

"During that time, the feedback will sever the molecular bonds that hold the target together. This process is instantaneous, resulting in maximum destabilization."

Ron listened on to the lecture with an inquisitive look, but just to be on the safe side, he was crossing his arms while rubbing his chin in a inquisitive manner. The scientist could only sigh as he hung and shook his head.

"Perhaps a demonstration is in order." Greg motioned for him to transform. Lazily, Ron took hold of his belt before placing it around his waist. He then opened the phone and dialled in the code.

**555**

He snapped it shut.

**Standing By**

"Henshin!"

Placing it snugly in position, he was engulfed in the same crimson flash before it dissipated. Now donned in his own armor, Ron entered the training room.

"I still don't see why I need to say that word out loud. 'Henshin', what am I a Power Trooper?" the blonde spoke through the interface.

"You mean Super Sentai," Greg corrected him through the intercom.

"What?" Ron knit his brows in confusion.

"You've been to Japan already and you don't know what that is? My buddy Toby _loved_ the Tokustatsu Genre back at his home. It partly served as the inspiration as to why I even started the Rider System." Greg explained absently, his focus more on programming in today's training scenario.

"Rider System?" Ron asked, casting aside his question as to what Tokusatsu even was.

"That was the official label for the project. The Rider System was designated as SMART BRAIN's elite combat force. Their mode of transportation being motorcycles, it was a given that we named them as such. Plus, it actually sounds appropriate when you say it out loud."

Ron was silent for a moment as he ran this bit over his head, before an idea popped up.

"Masked Rider…"

Greg looked up from the computer. "Hm?"

Ron pursed his lips. "I just thought of it, _Masked Rider Faiz_…how's that?"

Greg let the name stew in his mind before curling his lips into a small smile. "I like it…actually, yeah! You see!? You have your own moniker now – Masked Rider Faiz. What made you come up with it?" he chuckled.

Ron pressed his lips together and rolled his eyes in thought. "I kind of guessed since I'm pretty much wearing a mask…or a helmet technically? Of course, I can't exactly call myself "Helmet Rider Faiz"…that just sounds like a sex act if you think about it."

The two men paused in awkward silence, before Greg activated the system. The interior of the room glowed bright neon blue before Ron found himself in a grass clearing. The blonde looked up to the sky and noticed that the sun was positioned in high noon. He then looked on ahead and spied standing across from him a white training dummy. Part of the hard light constructs of the simulations, the dummies often served as his sparring partner.

More than once he imagined Gavin's face replacing the blank slate that was their head as he crushed them to a pulp.

"Ron, take the Faiz Pointer out of the holster and insert the Mission Memory into the slot." Greg spoke through the interface. Ron obeyed and held the weapon out as he went through the process.

"There's another slot by your right ankle, do you see it?"

Ron looked below to his feet and spied a feature that had not been there before, attached to the side of the ankle. It was a slot not unlike the holster on the belt, but it was clear that there was something different about it.

"Insert the Pointer into the slot."

Again, the blonde did as he was instructed and slotted the Pointer in, positioning it vertically so that the head was pointing downward.

**Ready**

Ron blinked before shrugging, leaving Greg to continue.

"Open the phone and press Enter."

Ron stood up and did so, and was taken slightly aback as a surge of Photon Energy travelled down the pathway straight from the phone and down towards the Pointer.

**Exceed Charge**

"Run towards the target and give it a kick."

Without hesitating, Ron broke into a sprint. When he was near enough, he released a swift kick dead center at the dummy before it backed away a short distance from the force. A large drill of Photon energy was suddenly spinning stationary against the spot that Ron had struck; most likely released by the Pointer when his foot made contact, leaving the blonde gawking at the sight.

"Do a jump kick straight into the vortex, hurry!"

Broken out of his trance, Ron did so and flipped into a somersault before extending his right leg forward in a side kick into the awaiting cone of energy.

It felt…weird. He could actually feel his body becoming weightless.

As Ron entered the drill, his sight was overtaken by a bright crimson light for just a second before finding himself back on the ground in a crouch. He couldn't well describe the experience as it all happened so fast. He slowly stood up to regain his composure before hearing a large explosion from behind. He jerked around and saw that the training dummy had already been vaporized.

"Whoa…did I do that?" Ron gaped as he treaded slowly towards the burning remains of the dummy scattered all over the clearing. He picked up a piece to examine it before Greg played back the scene by his interface.

Even when he was seeing it for himself, it was still so surreal. He could actually see his own body converting into energy before phasing through the dummy in an instant. What was peculiar was that an afterimage of the Faiz Symbol had briefly appeared over the dummy as it exploded before disappearing, but attributed it away as a side-effect.

"The reason why I didn't put it into the final design back then was because it carried the risk of vaporizing the user as well. I only managed to fix this problem not long after I left the company." Greg spoke solemnly. "Ronald, be careful when executing this attack, as the slightest miscalculation could prove disastrous. It should only be done as a last resort, do you understand?"

The blonde didn't respond right away and simply stared down at the charred piece of what he could only guess was once the dummy's finger. He then directed his sights to Greg's face, before giving a slow nod.

The scientist leaned back against his chair as he let out a deep breath, relieved that the readings from the armor were at least stable and the results were more than what he had hoped for. It took him hours of intense trial and error before he finally managed the right calibration for Ron to go through with it without tearing himself apart. He ran a hand through his leg and winced at the memory, but was nonetheless content. A few scrapes and bruises would be nothing compared to what awaited them.

Besides, what Ron didn't know wouldn't matter in the long run, and the less he knew –

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The better...

**Elsewhere…**

Kim Possible was lounging in her apartment watching the news. Rufus was in his tank, lazily flipping through channels on his mini-TV; not the least bit interested on the live event. She surveyed the newly sanctioned Riotroopers with a curious gleam in her eyes; they didn't look half-bad. If anything, these things might just be the answer to the city's current crisis.

As soon as she heard the reporter mentioning 'Crimson Rider', that's when she leaned in closer. She didn't exactly know who this mysterious Rider was, nor did she even care. Besides, it would be the pot calling the kettle black if she was ever going to pass judgment on someone who was just trying to save lives, even when he wasn't doing it officially.

The real question that came to mind was whether or not he was being sincere about it.

While it was true that vigilantism was against the law, that didn't exactly stop her and Ron back in the day when they were running around the world fighting baddies. Call her tenacious. Maybe even stubborn, but it was her insistence that she be taken seriously that won out all of her arguments.

Plus, it was always nice to show up all of those so-called 'trained professionals' whenever they tried to prove her wrong. Contrary to popular belief, they had been confronted by the authorities several times due to various factors that would have prevented them from doing what they did; their ages, the fact that they were little more than civilians, and still in school.

These would have been critical red flags signalling social services to drive them out of their homes and into foster care because of their parents' blatant neglect of their activities. But it didn't. In the end, Team Possible managed to prove their worth and earn their spot as legitimate heroes to be respected and admired. Yes, everything always seemed to work out for Kim Possible. Anything was possible for a Possible after all. She was perfect, capable of anything – a woman unlike any other.

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And yet…why did that make her feel so uneasy?

She had to admit, the fact that she was able to have even formed Team Possible and make it operate for as long as it did was more than suspect enough for it to have been too good to be true. Seriously, it all sounded like something out of a TV show. That was the issue that she had been knocking her brain against for the past few years after disbanding the Team.

Half of her life had been pretty much unbelievable. To say nothing of the authorities that eventually gave up and actually allowed her to do as she pleased; even commending her whenever she foiled one of the big name villains, one had to be pretty cynical to take it all with a grain of salt.

It wasn't that she ever lacked in skill. She was a superb fighter even from a young age; a prodigy. It just meant that if she could do it, then what could stop any other young aspirant from taking up where she left off? Kim sighed as she recalled all of those would-be imitators and rivals that she would come across every now and then. While she never would have admitted it openly before, she had long accepted that the perfectionist in her merely saw them more as competition, rather than people needlessly putting themselves in harm's way.

Pot and kettle.

Kim had practically lived every teenager's dream – a perfect hero that could do anything, loved and admired by most, if not all.

Then again, when she stopped and actually thought about it, she wouldn't even be sitting in this apartment right now. Hell, she and Ron would have been done in years ago if they had just made one simple mistake, whereas the US military had to deal with shit that was on par; if not worse, than what she and her boyfriend usually handled. The plane crash was all she needed to wake her up from the dream.

Of course, she did have help over the years; Ron especially, but when it came right down to it – even the probability of their survival was suspect. Martial arts and blow-dry grappling hooks be damned.

She couldn't count the 'Ron Factor' into her chance of success, as GJ had debunked that theory – or did they? Who's to say that Ron wasn't a significant factor in their luck, and that she had just been too bull-headed to admit it?

It was only after trying to get involved in the case of the mass serial killings that she found herself under scrutiny again; only by that time, the threat of arrest and facing jail time hung precariously over her head as she was already a legal adult. It was then that her parents found themselves intervening on her behalf; discussing terms with the family lawyer, calling in the right favors, and spending a substantial fee for all of the trouble.

A twinge of guilt immediately emerged from the pit of her stomach, but she pushed it back in as quickly as it came. Her parents stood up for her, but it would be an insult to say that it didn't cost them a thing. Their reputations for one, as well as their careers had been on the line; her grip on the armrest of her sofa tightened. That part of her life was over now.

She had been privy to the reality of it all a few days after the crash, in which she conducted an investigation on Jack Hench after picking up a lead that the shady bastard was somehow involved in the incident, At first, she had always thought that Hench Co. was merely an illegal company, but as she dug deeper into it, she had come across documents that had detailed information on Hench's business dealings, many of which were classified. Aside from the usual clientele of villains, she also stumbled upon military contracts straight from the Pentagon – how in the hell was the US Government involved with someone like Hench?

Unsurprisingly, there was a laundry list of requests from Al Qaeda, Abu Sayyaf, and many other terrorist factions for supplies, weapons, gear, computers, etc. What caught her by surprise was that there were also profiles on many of her past clients. Oh, they weren't part of Hench Co.'s consumer list, but their personal information was still catalogued in an encrypted folder.

That had piqued her attention, but due to not involving Wade on that mission (who had warned her against taking it), she was on her own when she found one of their computers. Even though she wasn't as tech-savvy as their genius friend, she had picked up enough pointers for herself to infiltrate securely encrypted files on her own. After assessing what she had found, she could finally see a pattern – it was like Jack Hench was trying to play as many sides against one another as possible.

Usually, this wouldn't be far off from your usual take over the world scheme, but it was still quite odd as Hench was a businessman above all else; a sleaze ball of an asshole, but a businessman all the same. He didn't seem the type to have the foresight on something so convoluted.

There had to be more to it. A few minutes into sorting and downloading as much as she could, she finally hit the jackpot – phone records.

The recent calls were from many of his usual clients, most of which she was well acquainted with; Duff Killigan, Monkey Fist, Dementor and even Drakken (who kept raving about refunds). What caught her off guard was a particular call that was unlike the rest. It wasn't a transaction or deal, but a casual one. The voice didn't even seem modified as it belonged to a woman.

**Jack**: "Oh…I didn't expect you to call so soon."

**Voice**: "It is fine. Is this a bad time? He wants an update on the plan."

**Jack**: "Don't worry; it's all going smoothly…heh."

**Voice**: "Is something the matter?"

**Jack**: "Nothing it's just, I practically worked my ass off to build this company from scratch…and now, I'm just gonna give it all away and dive into my own shit."

**Voice**: "Do I sound like I care? Just resume with the plan and rest assured that you will be taken care of."

**Jack**: "Sigh…I'm still not buying into this Susan. After all these years, only now he's decided to put it all into action."

**Susan**: "To each our own Jack. Don't push what little leniency you have left. He's already disappointed with you as it is."

**Jack**: "Oh, what's he gonna do, skewer me alive? Yeah, not getting the gist of it babe, you can both talk to me again when I actually have the nerve to express my gratitude to your generous offer a while back."

**Susan**: "…we'll be in touch Jack."

_**End call**_

As soon as the call ended, Kim rubbed her chin in thought as to who this 'Susan' might be; an associate, a girlfriend perhaps? Jack Hench had to have countless contacts and connections if he was ever dealing with the criminal underworld and this Susan might just be one of them. Putting her speculations aside for the time being, she packed up what she needed and vacated the main Hench Co. building as discreetly as she had entered. Hopefully, her disarming of the security and surveillance was enough to cover her tracks.

Back in the present, Kim heaved a heavy sigh as the ceremony ended; still confused as ever by the puzzle that was her life.

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**4 years ago…Hench Co. Main Building**

Unbeknownst to a certain red head, a very pleased Jack Hench was relaxing back in his chair watching everything with an amused gleam in his eyes. He fought back the urge to laugh as he and his acquaintance continued to observe Possible's so-called 'investigation' in silence. Right next to him stood a tall figure, whose face was obscured by the darkness of the office.

* * *

**Dun dun DUUUUUUUUUN! You will be seeing more of Jack Hench in future stories. I always wondered why not many people seem to see him having any significance in a more realistic setting.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Kim Possible and Kamen Rider Faiz are not under my ownership. **

* * *

"Shit…"

Ron and Greg watched in silence at the news, where a live broadcast of the inauguration of the Riotroopers at City Hall was being held. The audience could only watch in awed silence at the lined group of men; standing tall with their hands behind their backs. All of them were in SMART BRAIN uniforms and were wearing on each of their waists belts that were not unlike Ron's or Gavin's. The only difference was that the belts didn't seem to need a phone, as the activation module was already integrated into the buckle.

When the mayor gave the signal, all of them slotted the modules into place. A bright flash of light emanated from stage before dissipating, revealing the men now donned in their armor. The Riotrooper was actually more similar to the Faiz Armor in appearance. The body suit was black spandex, only the trimmings and Sol plating were bronze in color, and the visor was a perfect circular purple lens. Each of them drew out their weapons from their belts; daggers that also doubled as guns, and gave them a twirl before holstering them back in.

The crowd was left gaping at the spectacle, before breaking out in amazed cheers.

"Once again, SMART BRAIN has provided for us a great service, in which our fine men and women will now be better equipped to defend our fair city and restore order." Mayor John Candid spoke proudly over the microphone.

One of the reporters in the crowd quickly shot up their hand. "Yes young man?"

"What about the one who's been going around cleaning up the streets lately Mayor Candid, the one they call 'The Crimson Rider'? Is he a part of this?"

Candid licked the dryness from his lips and tilted his head. "You mean that unsanctioned vigilante?"

Some in the crowd of spectators whispered amongst themselves at this, while the reporter kept going.

"You mean he's not a part of the Riotrooper project?" If the mayor had looked more closely, he would have seen the reporter's brows knit into a frown.

"Like any upstart civilian who thinks they can take the law into their own hands, I just hope that the authorities catch up to him. Mind you, vigilantism is still against the law and is more for the mutual safety of all parties involved." He smiled genially at the crowd as he said this, although Ron did not fail to notice that it didn't reach his eyes.

The reporter wasn't done yet. "Yes, that's all well and good Mr. Mayor, but how can you explain the guy wearing armor that's suspiciously similar to what those guys are wearing right now."

"Let me be clear, the state does not recognize whoever this 'Crimson Rider' is. Nor do we condone his methods-"

"But at least he's doing something about it! We've been feeling a lot safer lately with him going around than we've been for the past few years." Some of the people in the crowd loudly agreed to what the reporter pointed out, while others grumbled in silence. The mayor inwardly grimacing at this annoyance, his smile quickly shifting into a lopsided grin.

"Well, we'll see in the long run as to where that will lead to. But right now, I present to you our real defenders!" As the mayor trailed off in his pronouncement; his hand extended towards the Riotroopers, the group of men took a step forward at the same time before de-transforming.

The ceremony continued without further interruption, after the mayor asked once more on whether the reporters still had questions or not.

…

Greg pressed his lips together. "I find this development perplexing. They weren't supposed to be released until next month. This is going to muddle all of our plans."

Ron heaved a sigh and closed his eyes as he leaned back against the sofa. "What was your first clue?"

"The Riotroopers aren't as powerful as the Faiz or Kaixa Gear, so…we can at least count that as an advantage." Greg steepled his fingers together as he contemplated on the escalating situation. If he was to let things go on as they were, then he and Ron were going to find themselves dusted in no time.

Ron grunted disparagingly. "What are _you_ so worried about? I'm the one breaking my back out there."

"I know how it feels to be putting your life on the line, my boy. Gavin was not the least bit kind in pursuing me when I first ran off with what little I could procure of my research." Ron rolled his eyes at this as Greg stood up from his seat, and walked up to the work table where the Faiz Gear was being monitored.

"Last night, aside from the repairs done to Auto, I've taken the liberty of upgrading your equipment. I've managed to alter the mechanics of the Faiz Pointer. Now, instead of a stun gun, it'll serve as a conduit for the Photon Drill."

Ron arched a brow as he looked to his benefactor. "Photon Drill?"

"It's one of the attacks that I developed for Faiz. The user simply generates an energy drill that would serve as a pathway in which it could be travelled into, where they would be converted into raw energy for a split second. After which, they would literally be able to phase through the intended target." Greg paused for a moment to catch his breath.

"During that time, the feedback will sever the molecular bonds that hold the target together. This process is instantaneous, resulting in maximum destabilization."

Ron listened on to the lecture with an inquisitive look, but just to be on the safe side, he was crossing his arms while rubbing his chin in a inquisitive manner. The scientist could only sigh as he hung and shook his head.

"Perhaps a demonstration is in order." Greg motioned for him to transform. Lazily, Ron took hold of his belt before placing it around his waist. He then opened the phone and dialled in the code.

**555**

He snapped it shut.

**Standing By**

"Henshin!"

Placing it snugly in position, he was engulfed in the same crimson flash before it dissipated. Now donned in his own armor, Ron entered the training room.

"I still don't see why I need to say that word out loud. 'Henshin', what am I a Power Trooper?" the blonde spoke through the interface.

"You mean Super Sentai," Greg corrected him through the intercom.

"What?" Ron knit his brows in confusion.

"You've been to Japan already and you don't know what that is? My buddy Toby _loved_ the Tokustatsu Genre back at his home. It partly served as the inspiration as to why I even started the Rider System." Greg explained absently, his focus more on programming in today's training scenario.

"Rider System?" Ron asked, casting aside his question as to what Tokusatsu even was.

"That was the official label for the project. The Rider System was designated as SMART BRAIN's elite combat force. Their mode of transportation being motorcycles, it was a given that we named them as such. Plus, it actually sounds appropriate when you say it out loud."

Ron was silent for a moment as he ran this bit over his head, before an idea popped up.

"Masked Rider…"

Greg looked up from the computer. "Hm?"

Ron pursed his lips. "I just thought of it, _Masked Rider Faiz_…how's that?"

Greg let the name stew in his mind before curling his lips into a small smile. "I like it…actually, yeah! You see!? You have your own moniker now – Masked Rider Faiz. What made you come up with it?" he chuckled.

Ron pressed his lips together and rolled his eyes in thought. "I kind of guessed since I'm pretty much wearing a mask…or a helmet technically? Of course, I can't exactly call myself "Helmet Rider Faiz"…that just sounds like a sex act if you think about it."

The two men paused in awkward silence, before Greg activated the system. The interior of the room glowed bright neon blue before Ron found himself in a grass clearing. The blonde looked up to the sky and noticed that the sun was positioned in high noon. He then looked on ahead and spied standing across from him a white training dummy. Part of the hard light constructs of the simulations, the dummies often served as his sparring partner.

More than once he imagined Gavin's face replacing the blank slate that was their head as he crushed them to a pulp.

"Ron, take the Faiz Pointer out of the holster and insert the Mission Memory into the slot." Greg spoke through the interface. Ron obeyed and held the weapon out as he went through the process.

"There's another slot by your right ankle, do you see it?"

Ron looked below to his feet and spied a feature that had not been there before, attached to the side of the ankle. It was a slot not unlike the holster on the belt, but it was clear that there was something different about it.

"Insert the Pointer into the slot."

Again, the blonde did as he was instructed and slotted the Pointer in, positioning it vertically so that the head was pointing downward.

**Ready**

Ron blinked before shrugging, leaving Greg to continue.

"Open the phone and press Enter."

Ron stood up and did so, and was taken slightly aback as a surge of Photon Energy travelled down the pathway straight from the phone and down towards the Pointer.

**Exceed Charge**

"Run towards the target and give it a kick."

Without hesitating, Ron broke into a sprint. When he was near enough, he released a swift kick dead center at the dummy before it backed away a short distance from the force. A large drill of Photon energy was suddenly spinning stationary against the spot that Ron had struck; most likely released by the Pointer when his foot made contact, leaving the blonde gawking at the sight.

"Do a jump kick straight into the vortex, hurry!"

Broken out of his trance, Ron did so and flipped into a somersault before extending his right leg forward in a side kick into the awaiting cone of energy.

It felt…weird. He could actually feel his body becoming weightless.

As Ron entered the drill, his sight was overtaken by a bright crimson light for just a second before finding himself back on the ground in a crouch. He couldn't well describe the experience as it all happened so fast. He slowly stood up to regain his composure before hearing a large explosion from behind. He jerked around and saw that the training dummy had already been vaporized.

"Whoa…did I do that?" Ron gaped as he treaded slowly towards the burning remains of the dummy scattered all over the clearing. He picked up a piece to examine it before Greg played back the scene by his interface.

Even when he was seeing it for himself, it was still so surreal. He could actually see his own body converting into energy before phasing through the dummy in an instant. What was peculiar was that an afterimage of the Faiz Symbol had briefly appeared over the dummy as it exploded before disappearing, but attributed it away as a side-effect.

"The reason why I didn't put it into the final design back then was because it carried the risk of vaporizing the user as well. I only managed to fix this problem not long after I left the company." Greg spoke solemnly. "Ronald, be careful when executing this attack, as the slightest miscalculation could prove disastrous. It should only be done as a last resort, do you understand?"

The blonde didn't respond right away and simply stared down at the charred piece of what he could only guess was once the dummy's finger. He then directed his sights to Greg's face, before giving a slow nod.

The scientist leaned back against his chair as he let out a deep breath, relieved that the readings from the armor were at least stable and the results were more than what he had hoped for. It took him hours of intense trial and error before he finally managed the right calibration for Ron to go through with it without tearing himself apart. He ran a hand through his leg and winced at the memory, but was nonetheless content. A few scrapes and bruises would be nothing compared to what awaited them.

Besides, what Ron didn't know wouldn't matter in the long run, and the less he knew –

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The better...

**Elsewhere…**

Kim Possible was lounging in her apartment watching the news. Rufus was in his tank, lazily flipping through channels on his mini-TV; not the least bit interested on the live event. She surveyed the newly sanctioned Riotroopers with a curious gleam in her eyes; they didn't look half-bad. If anything, these things might just be the answer to the city's current crisis.

As soon as she heard the reporter mentioning 'Crimson Rider', that's when she leaned in closer. She didn't exactly know who this mysterious Rider was, nor did she even care. Besides, it would be the pot calling the kettle black if she was ever going to pass judgment on someone who was just trying to save lives, even when he wasn't doing it officially.

The real question that came to mind was whether or not he was being sincere about it.

While it was true that vigilantism was against the law, that didn't exactly stop her and Ron back in the day when they were running around the world fighting baddies. Call her tenacious. Maybe even stubborn, but it was her insistence that she be taken seriously that won out all of her arguments.

Plus, it was always nice to show up all of those so-called 'trained professionals' whenever they tried to prove her wrong. Contrary to popular belief, they had been confronted by the authorities several times due to various factors that would have prevented them from doing what they did; their ages, the fact that they were little more than civilians, and still in school.

These would have been critical red flags signalling social services to drive them out of their homes and into foster care because of their parents' blatant neglect of their activities. But it didn't. In the end, Team Possible managed to prove their worth and earn their spot as legitimate heroes to be respected and admired. Yes, everything always seemed to work out for Kim Possible. Anything was possible for a Possible after all. She was perfect, capable of anything – a woman unlike any other.

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And yet…why did that make her feel so uneasy?

She had to admit, the fact that she was able to have even formed Team Possible and make it operate for as long as it did was more than suspect enough for it to have been too good to be true. Seriously, it all sounded like something out of a TV show. That was the issue that she had been knocking her brain against for the past few years after disbanding the Team.

Half of her life had been pretty much unbelievable. To say nothing of the authorities that eventually gave up and actually allowed her to do as she pleased; even commending her whenever she foiled one of the big name villains, one had to be pretty cynical to take it all with a grain of salt.

It wasn't that she ever lacked in skill. She was a superb fighter even from a young age; a prodigy. It just meant that if she could do it, then what could stop any other young aspirant from taking up where she left off? Kim sighed as she recalled all of those would-be imitators and rivals that she would come across every now and then. While she never would have admitted it openly before, she had long accepted that the perfectionist in her merely saw them more as competition, rather than people needlessly putting themselves in harm's way.

Pot and kettle.

Kim had practically lived every teenager's dream – a perfect hero that could do anything, loved and admired by most, if not all.

Then again, when she stopped and actually thought about it, she wouldn't even be sitting in this apartment right now. Hell, she and Ron would have been done in years ago if they had just made one simple mistake, whereas the US military had to deal with shit that was on par; if not worse, than what she and her boyfriend usually handled. The plane crash was all she needed to wake her up from the dream.

Of course, she did have help over the years; Ron especially, but when it came right down to it – even the probability of their survival was suspect. Martial arts and blow-dry grappling hooks be damned.

She couldn't count the 'Ron Factor' into her chance of success, as GJ had debunked that theory – or did they? Who's to say that Ron wasn't a significant factor in their luck, and that she had just been too bull-headed to admit it?

It was only after trying to get involved in the case of the mass serial killings that she found herself under scrutiny again; only this time, the threat of arrest and facing jail time hung precariously over her head as she was already a legal adult by that time. It was then that her parents found themselves intervening on her behalf; discussing terms with the family lawyer, calling in the right favors, and spending a substantial fee for all of the trouble.

A twinge of guilt immediately emerged from the pit of her stomach, but she pushed it back in as quickly as it came. Her parents stood up for her, but it would be an insult to say that it didn't cost them a thing. Their reputations for one, as well as their careers had been on the line; her grip on the armrest of her sofa tightened. That part of her life was over now.

She had been privy to the reality of it all a few days after the crash, in which she conducted an investigation on Jack Hench after picking up a lead that the shady bastard was somehow involved in the incident, At first, she had always thought that Hench Co. was merely an illegal company, but as she dug deeper into it, she had come across documents that had detailed information on Hench's business dealings, many of which were classified. Aside from the usual clientele of villains, she also stumbled upon military contracts straight from the Pentagon – how in the hell was the US Government involved with someone like Hench?

Unsurprisingly, there was a laundry list of requests from Al Qaeda, Abu Sayyaf, and many other terrorist factions for supplies, weapons, gear, computers, etc. What caught her by surprise was that there were also profiles on many of her past clients. Oh, they weren't part of Hench Co.'s consumer list, but their personal information was still catalogued in an encrypted folder.

That had piqued her attention, but due to not involving Wade on that mission (who had warned her against taking it), she was on her own when she found one of their computers. Even though she wasn't as tech-savvy as their genius friend, she had picked up enough pointers for herself to infiltrate securely encrypted files on her own. After assessing what she had found, she could finally see a pattern – it was like Jack Hench was trying to play as many sides against one another as possible.

Usually, this wouldn't be far off from your usual take over the world scheme, but it was still quite odd as Hench was a businessman above all else; a sleaze ball of an asshole, but a businessman all the same. He didn't seem the type to have the foresight on something so convoluted.

There had to be more to it. A few minutes into sorting and downloading as much as she could, she finally hit the jackpot – phone records.

The recent calls were from many of his usual clients, most of which she was well acquainted with; Duff Killigan, Monkey Fist, Dementor and even Drakken (who kept raving about refunds). What caught her off guard was a particular call that was unlike the rest. It wasn't a transaction or deal, but a casual one. The voice didn't even seem modified as it belonged to a woman.

**Jack**: "Oh…I didn't expect you to call so soon."

**Voice**: "It is fine. Is this a bad time? He wants an update on the plan."

**Jack**: "Don't worry; it's all going smoothly…heh."

**Voice**: "Is something the matter?"

**Jack**: "Nothing it's just, I practically worked my ass off to build this company from scratch…and now, I'm just gonna give it all away and dive into my own shit."

**Voice**: "Do I sound like I care? Just resume with the plan and rest assured that you will be taken care of."

**Jack**: "Sigh…I'm still not buying into this Susan. After all these years, only now he's decided to put it all into action."

**Susan**: "To each our own Jack. Don't push what little leniency you have left. He's already disappointed with you as it is."

**Jack**: "Oh, what's he gonna do, skewer me alive? Yeah, not getting the gist of it babe, you can both talk to me again when I actually have the nerve to express my gratitude to your generous offer a while back."

**Susan**: "…we'll be in touch Jack."

_**End call**_

As soon as the call ended, Kim rubbed her chin in thought as to who this 'Susan' might be; an associate, a girlfriend perhaps? Jack Hench had to have countless contacts and connections if he was ever dealing with the criminal underworld and this Susan might just be one of them. Putting her speculations aside for the time being, she packed up what she needed and vacated the main Hench Co. building as discreetly as she had entered. Hopefully, her disarming of the security and surveillance was enough to cover her tracks.

Back in the present, Kim heaved a heavy sigh as the ceremony ended; still confused as ever by the puzzle that was her life.

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**4 years ago…Hench Co. Main Building**

Unbeknownst to a certain red head, a very pleased Jack Hench was relaxing back in his chair watching everything with an amused gleam in his eyes. He fought back the urge to laugh as he and his acquaintance continued to observe Possible's so-called 'investigation' in silence. Right next to him stood a tall figure, whose face was obscured by the darkness of the office.

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**Dun dun DUUUUUUUUUN! You will be seeing more of Jack Hench in future stories. I always wondered why not many people seem to see him having any significance in a more realistic setting.**


End file.
